![\"Bettongia](\"https:\/\/cdn.sci.news\/images\/enlarge13\/image_14197e-Bettongia-haoucharae.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBettongia haoucharae. Image credit: Nellie Pease.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoylies are ecosystem engineers capable of turning over several tonnes of earth each year in search for their favorite mushroom treats,\u201d said Curtin University Ph.D. student Jake Newman-Martin and colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cute kangaroo relatives, native to Western Australia, are the country\u2019s most translocated mammal because they are moved as part of conservation efforts to save the critically endangered species.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the new research, the authors analyzed fossils from caves of the Nullarbor and southwest Australia.<\/p>\n
They identified a completely new species as well as two new subspecies of woylies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe discovery unlocked vital clues about the diversity of woylies, also known as brush-tailed bettong,\u201d Newman-Martin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoylies are critically endangered marsupials that have been the focus of conservation efforts for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this new research, we\u2019ve named a completely new species based on fossil material, and two new subspecies of woylies for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, many of them have become extinct before we\u2019ve even been aware of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur results split the critically endangered woylie into two living subspecies, which is very important for conservation when we\u2019re considering breeding and translocation initiatives to increase the size and fitness of populations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used bone measurements to assess the diversity of woylies and the number of species,\u201d said Dr. Kenny Travouillon, curator of terrestrial zoology at the Western Australian Museum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis research confirmed several distinct species and expanded the known diversity of woylies by measuring skull and body fossil material that had previously not been looked at in detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve found through this research tells us that examining fossils alongside genetic tools could offer significant insights that may help conservation efforts of this critically endangered native species.\u201d<\/p>\n