Crescent nail-tail wallaby

Onychogalea lunata

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Extinct

Last seen: Onychogalea lunata were last seen in 1952 (1950-1954) in Wheatbelt, WA (IUCN 2023)

IUCN claim: “This species was probably extirpated by predation from introduced foxes and cats.”

Studies in support

Crescent nail-tail wallabies were last confirmed in the Wheatbelt (two records), Nullarbor and southwest Australia 50-119, 37-58 and 18-78 years after cats arrived, respectively (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Studies not in support

Crescent nail-tail wallabies were last confirmed in western NSW (two records) 23 years before to 30 years after cats arrived (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

In one region it cannot be verrified that extirpation occurred after cat arrival, and in another the two species possibly co-occurred for over a century.

Evidence linking Onychogalea lunata to cats. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.
Evidence linking Onychogalea lunata to cats. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Wallach A.D., Lundgren E.J. (2025) Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia’s endemic mammals. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf046