An uncharacteristic new population of the Mountain Pygmy-possumBurramysparvus in New South Wales

Abstract

The Mountain Pygmy-possum Burramys parvus was first described from a fossil found in Wombeyan Caves, central-eastern New South Wales in 1895, with further fossils located in Buchan Caves in eastern Victoria and Jenolan Caves in central-eastern New South Wales (Broom 1896; Wakefield 1960; Hope 1982). In August 1966 a living individual was located in the University Ski Lodge on Mt Higginbotham in the Victorian Alps (Ride 1970; Dixon 1971). The first discovery of the species in New South Wales was an individual trapped in Kosciuszko National Park in early 1970 (Calaby et al. 1971). Over the next three decades Burramys parvus was located in three regional populations that were separated by low elevation river valleys in the subalpine and alpine areas of south-eastern Australia. These regional populations are located in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, the Bogong High Plains area (including sub-populations on Mt Bogong, the Bogong High Plains and Mt Higginbotham) and at Mt Buller in Victoria. Highe...