The Julia Creek Dunnart is a small carnivorous nocturnal marsupial. It is the largest of the 19 species of Sminthopsis found in Australia. The species has a body that is 13.5 cm long, a tail 12–13 cm long and weighs up to 70 g. The species can store food in its tail as fat, and individuals will have a swollen base to their tail when food is abundant. The Julia Creek Dunnart is sandy brown in colour, speckled with grey above and almost white below. The face has reddish-brown hair on the cheeks and at the base of the ears. A darker face stripe runs from behind the nose to the top of the head and there is a fine ring of darker hair around the eyes.
Julia Creek Dunnart |
Sminthopsis douglasi
Status: Vulnerable on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Sminthopsis douglasi
Interactive effects Moderate Moderate There is some experimental of fire and evidence suggesting increased predators predation pressure on Julia Creek dunnarts following fire (Qld DERM 2009).
A continuing decline in habitat quality and number of individuals is inferred (meeting Criterion (b)(iii)(v)); due to threats from feral cats; prickly acacia and ongoing drought conditions.