Named Bettongia haoucharae, the newly-discovered species of woylie is already likely extinct, says a team of researchers from Curtin University, the Western Australian Museum and Murdoch University.
Bettongia haoucharae. Image credit: Nellie Pease.
“Woylies are ecosystem engineers capable of turning over several tonnes of earth each year in search for their favorite mushroom treats,” said Curtin University Ph.D. student Jake Newman-Martin and colleagues.
“The cute kangaroo relatives, native to Western Australia, are the country’s most translocated mammal because they are moved as part of conservation efforts to save the critically endangered species.”
In the new research, the authors analyzed fossils from caves of the Nullarbor and southwest Australia.
They identified a completely new species as well as two new subspecies of woylies.
“The discovery unlocked vital clues about the diversity of woylies, also known as brush-tailed bettong,” Newman-Martin said.
“Woylies are critically endangered marsupials that have been the focus of conservation efforts for decades.”
“In this new research, we’ve named a completely new species based on fossil material, and two new subspecies of woylies for the first time.”
“Sadly, many of them have become extinct before we’ve even been aware of them.
“Our results split the critically endangered woylie into two living subspecies, which is very important for conservation when we’re considering breeding and translocation initiatives to increase the size and fitness of populations.”
“We used bone measurements to assess the diversity of woylies and the number of species,” said Dr. Kenny Travouillon, curator of terrestrial zoology at the Western Australian Museum.
“This research confirmed several distinct species and expanded the known diversity of woylies by measuring skull and body fossil material that had previously not been looked at in detail.”
“What we’ve found through this research tells us that examining fossils alongside genetic tools could offer significant insights that may help conservation efforts of this critically endangered native species.”
A paper about the discovery was published in the journal Zootaxa.
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Jake Newman-Martin et al. 2025. A taxonomic revision of the Bettongia penicillata (Diprotodontia: Potoroidae) species complex and description of the subfossil species Bettongia haoucharae sp. nov. Zootaxa 5690 (1); doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5690.1.1
