Lesser stick-nest rat

Leporillus apicalis

Blamed on foxes

IUCN status: Extinct

Last seen: Leporillus apicalis were last seen in 1933 in Norman Tindale, near Mt Crombie, south of the Musgrave Ranges in north-western South Australia (IUCN 2023)

IUCN claim: “Predation by feral cats is considered the main cause of extinction. The arrival of Red Foxes in range may have driven remnant subpopulations to extinction”

Studies in support

Lesser stick-nest rats were last confirmed at Mount Crombie 13-18 years after foxes arrived (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Studies not in support

Lesser stick-nest rats were last confirmed in the Western Division of NSW, southern NT (three records), northwest Victoria and Euston 27-2, 30-15, 39-23, and 38-33 years before foxes arrived, respectively (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

Most extinction records pre-date the fox arrival records.

Evidence linking Leporillus apicalis to foxes. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of foxes. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Fairfax 2019.

References

Fairfax, Dispersal of the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) across Australia. Biol. Invasions 21, 1259-1268 (2019).

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