Fungal consumers play an important role in maintaining ecosystem health by dispersing mycorrhizal fungi, which forms symbiotic relationships with plants. Fungal dispersal is poorly understood within the Dasyuridae, with only 7 of the 61 Australian species identified as fungal consumers. This study provides the first evidence of fungal consumption by swamp antechinus (A. minimus) and mainland dusky antechinus (A. mimetes), and it is likely that there are many other dasyurids which disperse fungi. Photograph by Conor Nest.

The sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) has been shown to comprise three species. Petaurus notatus was identified as the available name for one of the newly circumscribed species. The type specimen of Petaurus notatus had been considered lost, and a neotype defined. We found the holotype in Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, and provide photographs and a descriptionof the specimen. The neotype should now be set aside. Precise details of the type locality are provided.

We describe our expedition to the Grasberg mine to observe, sample, and track New Guinea highland wild dogs. We have described methods, observations, behaviour, and tracking success.

We describe a new northern record of the parma wallaby (Notamacropus parma) captured during a free-ranging dog trapping and collaring program in northern New South Wales, Australia.

Sometime after the 1930s, the Nullarbor barred bandicoot went extinct. Two photographs of living Nullarbor barred bandicoots have been found in University of Melbourne’s anatomy collections, discovered by chance in a basement storeroom. Apart from a glass slide held by the South Australian Museum, these are the only known photographs of this species as a living animal. Australia has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world and photographs such as this are increasingly being recognised for their scientific and cultural importance. Photograph by Gavan Mitchell.

The introduced platypus population on Kangaroo Island offers a rare opportunity to examine resilience under extreme environmental pressures. Our study found lower capture rates than those two decades ago, along with shifts in diet composition and physiological markers following recent drought, bushfires, and floods. Although evidence of ongoing reproduction suggests persistence, these findings highlight both the vulnerability and adaptability of this isolated population, providing important insights to guide conservation efforts for freshwater species in increasingly variable environments.

This article belongs to the collection: Recent research on the platypus.

Understanding platypus distribution in challenging environments is crucial but difficult owing to their elusive nature and inaccessible habitats. We leveraged environmental DNA technology to detect platypuses across diverse conditions in Kosciuszko National Park, showing that eDNA can uncover platypuses in new high-altitude locations and is influenced by altitude, stream order, and seasonality. These findings highlight the potential of eDNA to improve wildlife monitoring, and underscore the need for refining eDNA survey designs to enhance viability and interpretation across different environmental variables.

This article belongs to the collection: Recent research on the platypus.

Cryptic and declining species can be difficult to detect. We investigated detectability for the cryptic eastern pygmy possum by using wildlife cameras in novel ways. Focusing cameras on flowering banksia effectively detected the species and improved capture rates when compared with typical survey methods or focusing cameras on nest boxes. Cameras may offer a low-cost alternative to standard techniques for cryptic and hard to detect species and improve detection probability by supplementing existing survey approaches. Photograph by Cassie Thompson.

Little red flying-fox (Pteropus scapulatus) colonies were recently observed in two locations on the South Coast of the New South Wales, a region in which roosting by this species is rarely observed. The colonies persisted for at least 25 days and comprised thousands of individuals. Photograph by Matthew Mo.

Red foxes are a major predator of livestock and wildlife in Australia, yet their local behaviour during key farming events is not well understood. We documented an unusually high number of foxes – 21 in 1 h – drawn to a lambing event in northern New South Wales, with more appearing over the following days. This highlights how strongly foxes respond to lambing, with important implications for predator control and livestock protection during vulnerable periods.

The study examined skull size and shape of ‘sugar gliders’ (Petaurus breviceps and Petaurus notatus) to clarify their distribution in Australia. Significant differences were found between populations east, mid and west of the Great Dividing Range (GDR) in New South Wales. P. breviceps was absent from its previously described GDR range, being restricted to the eastern coastal zone south of the Brisbane Valley Barrier (BVB).

We document the first recorded evidence of a native rakali ambushing an invasive black rat in the natural environment. This observation offers unique evidence suggesting that rakali may be competitively dominant over invasive black rats. This finding provides ecological justification for the conservation and promotion of rakali as a potential natural predator of black rats as part of broader ecological restoration strategies building biotic resistance from native species. Video images by Margarita Goumas.

The grey-headed flying-fox typically occurs in temperate and subtropical regions of eastern and south-eastern Australia. We report an unusual account of grey-headed flying-foxes sustaining a roost in a semi-arid region of western New South Wales. Photographs by Matthew Mo and Trevor Bauer.