https://stories.theconversation.com/scanning-australias-bones/
"It’s December 1931 when South Australian Museum mammalogist Hedley Herbert
Finlayson sets out in search of a mysterious marsupial.
He travels north from his Adelaide home, deep into the outback around Clifton
Hills Station.
The hot, stony and sandy plains are the lands of the Wangkangurru Yarluyandi
people.
The
ngudlukanta or desert rat-kangaroo (
Caloprymnus campestris) had just
been spotted here for the first time in 90 years.
The
ngudlukanta is a tiny marsupial that’s survived the remote region’s heat,
drought and scarcity of food.
Weighing just under one kilogram, it’s the perfect snack for feral predators
such as cats and foxes, introduced by Europeans.
Hedley Herbert Finlayson spends four weeks in the outback hunting the
ngudlukanta. With the help of local First Nations people, he finds and
collects “a series of specimens”.
These specimens – along with the rest of Finlayson’s extensive private mammal
collection – are now held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern
Territory.
These bones are incredibly precious because they’re the last official record of
the
ngudlukanta.
It’s officially been extinct since 1994, despite sporadic reports of possible
sightings.
But we’re hoping a new 3D digital public database we’ve built will help solve
the mystery of whether the elusive critter could still exist out on those
remote, sandy plains."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
