THE broad-toothed rat Mastacomys fuscus is a
native, herbivorous rodent that occurs in New South
Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. On the Australian
mainland the species has been recorded in several
habitats at altitudes ranging from sea level to 1800 m.
In alpine and sub-alpine areas of New South Wales
and Victoria it has been recorded in heathlands, open
eucalypt woodlands and wet sedgelands (Calaby and
Wimbush 1964; Dixon 1971; Seebeck 1971; Bubela
et al. 1991). At lower altitudes in Victoria, it has
been recorded in wet sclerophyll forests with a dense
undergrowth, coastal heathland, coastal grassland and
in a pine plantation (Seebeck 1971; Wallis et al.
1982; Warneke 1960). In Tasmania, M. fuscus has
been previously recorded only in buttongrass
moorlands of western Tasmania at altitudes ranging
from sea level to 900 m (Finlayson 1933; Andrews
1968; Green 1968, 1984; Hocking and Guiler 1983;
Driessen and Comfort 1991; Slater 1992; Driessen
1998). Buttongrass moorland (also referred to as
sedgeland) is a treeless vegetation typically
dominated by Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus
(buttongrass) that covers more than a million hectares
in Tasmania, predominantly in the western part of the
State (Jarman et al. 1988). Buttongrass moorland is a
very variable vegetation group and not all
communities recognised within buttongrass moorland
provide habitat for M. fuscus (Driessen and Comfort
1991; Slater 1992; Driessen 1998).
The purpose of this note is to report the results of
a survey for M. fuscus in alpine heathland, a habitat
in which the species has not been previously recorded
in Tasmania. This finding has significant
implications for the conservation status of this
species.
Wildfire in wet sclerophyll forests: the interplay between disturbances and fuel dynamics
