Cercartetus lepidus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	DIPROTODONTIA	BURRAMYIDAE

Scientific Name:

Cercartetus lepidus

Species Authority:

(Thomas, 1888)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Little Pygmy-possum, Little Pygmy Possum, Tasmanian Pygmy Possum

Taxonomic Notes:

The populations on Tasmania and mainland Australia may represent two separate species (Carthew and Cadzow 2008).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2008
Assessor/s:	Menkhorst, P.
Reviewer/s:	Lamoreux, J. & Hilton-Taylor, C. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Least Concern because, although the species is not common, it is relatively widespread (particularly on Tasmania), present in protected areas, and is not thought to be undergoing any major declines.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to Australia, where it occurs throughout much of Tasmania and western Kangaroo Island, and on the mainland at the border between south-eastern South Australia and northwestern Victoria.
Countries:	Native: Australia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is not common.
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It is a little-known, nocturnal species. In Victoria, it has been recorded from mallee scrub, dry sclerophyll forests, and from heath on Kangaroo Island and in eastern Tasmania, and from wet sclerophyll forests in western Tasmania. Females gives birth to litters of three or four young (Carthew and Cadzow 2008).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats to this species, but inappropriate fire regimes on the mainland and continued clearance of sclerophyll forests in Tasmania are problems, and in some areas degradation of habitat by spreading of weeds, and predation by introduced cats may cause localized declines.

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to this species, but inappropriate fire regimes on the mainland and continued clearance of sclerophyll forests in Tasmania are problems, and in some areas degradation of habitat by spreading of weeds, and predation by introduced cats may cause localized declines.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It is present in protected areas. Further studies are needed into the taxonomy, distribution, abundance, reproduction, ecology, and threats to this species.

Conservation Actions:

It is present in protected areas. Further studies are needed into the taxonomy, distribution, abundance, reproduction, ecology, and threats to this species.

Citation:	Menkhorst, P. 2008. Cercartetus lepidus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.
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