By Rafi Letzter, Staff Writer | December
18, 2017 11:53am ET
A species of tiny, adorable marsupial that
scientists thought had been locally extinct for more than 100 years has
re-emerged in New South Wales, Australia.
The crest-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda), which weighs
just 5 ounces (150 grams), was once a common small carnivore in desert inland
regions of the continent, according to
a statement from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). But
researchers in the modern era knew the mulgara lived in New South Wales only
from fossilized bone fragments.
"The crest-tailed mulgara was once
widely distributed across sandy desert environments in inland Australia, but
declined due to the effects of rabbits, cats and foxes," UNSW scientist
Rebecca West said in the statement.
Rabbits, cats and foxes are all invasive
species in Australia, according to the Australian
Department of the Environment and Energy; they arrived with European settlers and
have had devastating effects on the continent's native wildlife. [10 Species
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