Recent mammal records from Lake Pedder area

Between 6 and 24 February 1967, an opportunity
was provided for zoologists from the Tasmanian
Museum, Hobart and the Queen Victoria
Museum, Launceston, to conduct a biological survey
in the Lake Pedder area, south-west Tasmania.
The survey was conducted in three separate localities
totalling about ten square miles in all. During
October and November of the same year the Lake
Pedder site was again visited by staff from the
Tasmanian Museum in two field trips of one week
each.
The areas are briefiy described physically and
the methods and results of the survey are outlined.
The material collected is housed in either
the Tasmanian Museum or the Launceston
Museum, the relevant specimen numbers being
given in the text.
When compared with more fertile areas of the
state, the south-west area seems generally poor in
both numbers and species of mammals although
almost all indigenous Tasmanian groups are represented
to some extent. The sparseness of the
animal fauna would seem to be indicated by the
low quality of the soils and vegetation and the
few varieties of habitat.
A systematic list of the mammals collected is
included, but owing to the short period of time
available in the area, no information regarding the
status and distribution is available.