11
November 2004
Outback mystery
The Australian marsupial mole (called itjaritjari in the local language) is billed as one of the Outback's most mysterious creatures. Like many small mammals endemic in Australia, it is in danger of extinction. It features in an Australian government-backed recovery plan, but so little is known about where and how it lives that it is hard to assess its population and whether it is in decline or not. An ecological study now under way should help to dispel some of the mystery, and target conservation measures in the right areas.
A mole in hand...
CARINA DENNIS
A strange Australian mole has eluded scientific study for more than a
century. Now biologists are teaming up with Aboriginal trackers to unearth
the secrets of the itjaritjari. Carina Dennis checks on their progress.
Nature 432, 142–143 (2004); doi:10.1038/432142a
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