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IUCN 2008: T6296A21947190
Dasyurus viverrinus, Eastern Quoll
Assessment by: Burbidge, A.A. & Woinarski, J.
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Citation: Burbidge, A.A. & Woinarski, J. 2016. Dasyurus viverrinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2016: e.T6296A21947190. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20161.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Dasyuromorphia
Dasyuridae
Taxon Name: Dasyurus viverrinus (Shaw, 1800)
Synonym(s):
• Didelphis viverrina Shaw, 1800
• Satanellus viverrinus (Shaw, 1800)
Common Name(s):
• English:
• French:
Eastern Quoll
Chat marsupial moucheté
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Endangered A2b ver 3.1
Year Published:
2016
Date Assessed:
March 15, 2014
Justification:
The Eastern Quoll is still widespread in Tasmania but spotlighting data demonstrate that its population
size has declined by an estimated >50% over the past 10 years. Monitoring of subpopulations by
trapping confirms a continuing decline, except that abundance remains relatively high on Bruny Island.
The Eastern Quoll may be detrimentally affected by feral cat predation (especially if cats have increased,
or increase in the future, following the severe decline of the Tasmanian Devil Sarcophilus harrisii), and
dogs, land-use changes and road mortality. A severe impact on this species is projected if the Red Fox
were to become established in Tasmania, but it is unlikely that foxes will become abundant, and hence
quolls substantially reduced, within a 10-year timeframe.
Previously Published Red List Assessments
2008 – Near Threatened (NT) – http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T6296A12600445.en
1996 – Lower Risk/near threatened (LR/nt)
1965 – Status inadequately known-survey required or data sought
Geographic Range
Range Description:
The Eastern Quoll was previously widespread in mainland southeastern Australia including New South
Wales (NSW NPWS 1993), Victoria (Menkhorst 1995) and eastern South Australia (Jones 2008). It
became extinct on the mainland c. mid-1960s (Menkhorst 1995, Jones 2008, DPIPWE 2012), with
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
1
sightings at Kew and Ivanhoe, Melbourne until the early 1960s, maybe later (P. Menkhorst pers. comm.
2014); the last confirmed mainland sighting being at Vaucluse (NSW) in 1963 (Dickman et al. 2001), and
it is now restricted to Tasmania and Bruny Island (Tasmania). Rounsevell et al. (1991) recorded it in 30%
of 10 km x 10 km grids in Tasmania and reported that it was not present in large tracts of rainforest.
Jones et al. (2014) reported a high probability of occurrence over much of the eastern half and centralnorth coast of Tasmania, with areas of intermediate probability extending to about the eastern twothirds of the island and to the north-west of Tasmania, with isolated populations in the southwest.
Similar results were found using MaxEnt climate modelling (Johnson et al. 2012, Fancourt et al. 2015).
Eastern Quoll distribution is associated with low to moderate mean annual rainfall and includes a range
of more open habitats, including open grassland (including farmland), tussock grassland, grassy
woodland, dry eucalypt forest, coastal scrub and alpine heathland (Jones and Rose 1996, Jones and
Barmuta 2000). It tends to be absent from large tracts of wet eucalypt forest and rainforest, unless these
are adjacent to open and tussock grassland and heath.
Country Occurrence:
Native: Australia (New South Wales - Regionally Extinct, South Australia - Regionally Extinct, Tasmania,
Victoria - Regionally Extinct)
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
2
Distribution Map
Dasyurus viverrinus
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
3
Population
There is no robust assessment of population size, or that of individual subpopulations. Annual spotlight
surveys, originally designed to monitor trends in the abundance of wallabies and possums, have been
conducted in Tasmania between 1985 and 2011 by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water
and Environment (Driessen and Hocking 1992, DPIPWE 2012, M. Driessen and G. Hocking pers. comm.
2014), with the number of transects increased to 132 following a review by Southwell and Fletcher
(1990). Further transects were added between 1985 and 1990 with 150 transects being surveyed
annually since 1990, with a core group of 42 transects being surveyed every year from 1975 to 2011;
spotlighting methodology was standardized in 1985.
Analysis by Fancourt et al. (2013) of spotlight surveys from 147 sites across Tasmania revealed a 52%
reduction in the number of Eastern Quoll sightings over the 10 years to 2009. Declines of 61-100% were
observed in trapping surveys at three study sites compared with trapping conducted 18-31 years earlier.
A reduction in trap success was recorded in five of six non-target surveys, with declines of 51-100% over
1-12 years. Recent spotlight surveys do not reveal any recovery (B. Fancourt pers. comm. 2014). While
trapping surveys tend to confirm the decline on the Tasmanian mainland, numbers captured on Bruny
Island increased between 2010 and 2012 (B. Fancourt pers. comm. 2014). However, this subpopulation
is presumed to be far smaller than that on the Tasmanian mainland, meaning that the species’ overall
population trend is likely to be ongoing decline.
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
The Eastern Quoll is largely solitary and is nocturnal and only occasionally forages or basks during
daylight. It is found in a variety of habitats including rainforest, heathland, alpine areas and scrub.
However, it prefers dry grassland and forest mosaics which are bounded by agricultural land, particularly
where pasture grubs are common (Jones et al. 2013, DPIPWE 2012). During the day, animals sleep in
nests made under rocks, in underground burrows or fallen logs. The Eastern Quoll is an opportunistic
carnivore that takes live prey and scavenges. It is an impressive hunter, taking mammals such as rabbits,
mice and rats, and small elapid snakes and skinks. They sometimes scavenge morsels of food from
around feeding Tasmanian Devils Sarcophilus harrisii. However, the main component of its diet at lower
altitudes is invertebrates, especially agricultural pests such as the cockchafer beetle and corbie grub. In
alpine areas, invertebrates form a small component of the diet; carrion and some fruits are also eaten
(Blackhall 1980, Godsell 1983, Jones and Barmuta 1998, DPIPWE 2012).
Feral cats are well suited to taking quolls, as well as the prey that quolls eat. Predation and direct
competition potentially force the Eastern Quoll from its natural habitat. Feral cat numbers may have
increased in Tasmania coinciding with the rapid decline of the Tasmanian Devil, which are hypothesised
to have depressed feral cat numbers (Fancourt 2011, Hollings 2012, Hollings et al. 2013). However, feral
cats have been present in Tasmania for many decades and quolls have survived.
Dogs, road kills (Jones 1993), and, mostly in the past, illegal poisoning or trapping are additional causes
of mortality, but population level effects are unknown. Red Foxes are a future threat. Jones et al. (2004)
reported that Eastern Quolls lacked an appropriate anti-predator response to foxes, suggesting that they
would be vulnerable to predation by foxes. The Red Fox may now be present in Tasmania (Berry et al.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
4
2007, Sarre et al. 2012, DPIPWE 2013) and experience on mainland Australia shows that, if Red Foxes
establish, fox predation will have a severe, possibly catastrophic impact on this species in the mediumto long-term.
Systems: Terrestrial
Threats (see Appendix for additional information)
The threatening processes that caused the decline and extinction of Eastern Quoll on the Australian
mainland are unknown, but disease, together with predation by introduced feral cats (Felis catus) and
Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are the most likely causes (Peacock and Abbott 2014).
In Tasmania, the recent decline has been linked to a sustained period of unsuitable weather conditions
over much of the species' distribution (Fancourt et al. 2015). Predation by feral cats is considered the
most likely process preventing the species' recovery: juveniles are vulnerable to cat predation (Jones et
al. 2014), and cat abundance might be increasing due to the decline of the Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus
harrisii) (Fancourt 2011). However, feral cats have been present in Tasmania for a long time and quolls
have survived.
There have been previous episodes of severe rates of mortality associated with disease (Wood Jones
1923, Guiler 1961, Green 2007) that may have made a significant contribution to local extinction on the
mainland; some ongoing incidence and (mostly uncertain) impacts of diseases (e.g. toxoplasmosis;
however, Fancourt et al. (2012) found toxoplasmosis does not appear to be contributing to recent
population declines).
The Red Fox recently arrived in Tasmania; if it establishes, it is likely to be a major threat through
predation. Minor threats include poisoning and trapping, predation by dogs and road mortality.
Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)
1.
Maintain distribution and abundance 2.
effectively control Red Foxes in Tasmania.
Reduce feral cat predation 3.
Eradicate or
4.
Should foxes become widely established, consider captive breeding as as precursor to
translocation to an island or mainland 'island'.
5.
Monitoring to understand processes influencing Eastern Quoll abundance changes.
Credits
Assessor(s):
Burbidge, A.A. & Woinarski, J.
Reviewer(s):
Hawkins, C.
Contributor(s):
Driessen, M., Fancourt, B., Hocking, G., Johnson, C.N., Jones, M. & Menkhorst, P.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
5
Bibliography
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case of feral foxes in Tasmania. Wildlife Research 34: 1-7.
Blackhall, S. 1980. Diet of the Eastern Native-Cat, Dasyurus viverrinus (Shaw), in southern Tasmania.
Australian Wildlife Research 7: 191-197.
Bryant, S. 1988. Seasonal breeding in the Eastern Quoll, Dasyurus viverrinus (Marsupalia: Dasyuridae).
Ph.D. Thesis, University of Tasmania.
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http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-537V4U?open. (Accessed: 31 May 2012).
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(Accessed: 7 February 2013).
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Fancourt, B. 2011. Drought, disease or destiny? Identifying the cause of decline of the eastern quoll.
Australian Wildlife 4: 26-27.
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2015. Testing the Role of Climate Change in Species Decline: Is the Eastern Quoll a Victim of a Change in
the Weather? PLoS ONE 10(6): e0129420. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0129420.
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(Dasyurus viverrinus) in Tasmania. Australian Mammalogy 35(2): 195-205.
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Marsupalia) in southern Tasmania. In: M. Archer (ed.), Carnivorous Marsupials Volume 1, pp. 199-207.
Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Ausralia.
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Australian National University.
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207-210.
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Conservation Biology 28(1): 63-75.
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quoll (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae) and an assessment of the role of disease, cats and foxes in its
curtailment. Australian Journal of Zoology 62: 294–344.
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in Tasmania. Wildlife Research 18: 699-717.
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widespread in Tasmania: DNA detection defines the distribution of this rare but invasive carnivore.
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surveys used for monitoring wallaby populations in Tasmania. Report prepared for the Tasmanian
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© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
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Citation
Burbidge, A.A. & Woinarski, J. 2016. Dasyurus viverrinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016:
e.T6296A21947190. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
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8
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
1. Forest -> 1.4. Forest - Temperate
Resident
Suitable
Yes
3. Shrubland -> 3.4. Shrubland - Temperate
Resident
Suitable
Yes
4. Grassland -> 4.4. Grassland - Temperate
Resident
Suitable
Yes
14. Artificial/Terrestrial -> 14.1. Artificial/Terrestrial - Arable Land
Resident
Suitable
No
14. Artificial/Terrestrial -> 14.2. Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland
Resident
Suitable
No
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat
Timing
Scope
Severity
Impact Score
4. Transportation & service corridors -> 4.1. Roads &
railroads (Vulpes vulpes)
Ongoing
Minority (50%)
Slow, significant
declines
Low impact: 5
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Ongoing
Whole (>90%)
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Ongoing
Whole (>90%)
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Future
Whole (>90%)
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes &
diseases -> 8.1. Invasive non-native/alien
species/diseases -> 8.1.2. Named species (Canis
familiaris)
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes &
diseases -> 8.1. Invasive non-native/alien
species/diseases -> 8.1.2. Named species (Felis catus)
8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes &
diseases -> 8.1. Invasive non-native/alien
species/diseases -> 8.1.2. Named species (Vulpes
vulpes)
Unknown
Rapid declines
Rapid declines
Unknown
High impact: 8
Medium
impact: 6
Conservation Actions in Place
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Research, Monitoring and Planning
Action Recovery plan: No
Systematic monitoring scheme: Yes
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
9
Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management
Conservation sites identified: Yes, over part of range
Occur in at least one PA: Yes
Invasive species control or prevention: Yes
Conservation Actions Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions Needed
1. Land/water protection -> 1.2. Resource & habitat protection
2. Land/water management -> 2.2. Invasive/problematic species control
3. Species management -> 3.3. Species re-introduction -> 3.3.2. Benign introduction
3. Species management -> 3.4. Ex-situ conservation -> 3.4.1. Captive breeding/artificial propagation
4. Education & awareness -> 4.3. Awareness & communications
Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.5. Threats
3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends
Additional Data Fields
Distribution
Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) (km²): 2320
Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO): Yes
Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): No
Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km²): 47000
Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO): Yes
Number of Locations: 2
Continuing decline in number of locations: No
Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations: No
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
10
Population
Number of mature individuals: 10000-12000
Continuing decline of mature individuals: Yes
Extreme fluctuations: No
Population severely fragmented: No
No. of subpopulations: 2
Continuing decline in subpopulations: No
Extreme fluctuations in subpopulations: No
All individuals in one subpopulation: No
Habitats and Ecology
Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: No
Generation Length (years): 2
Movement patterns: Not a Migrant
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Dasyurus viverrinus – published in 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T6296A21947190.en
11
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership.
The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International;
Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of
Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™