SPECIES: Sminthopsis psammophila — Sandhill Dunnart
CLASSIFICATION: Endangered
The Sandhill Dunnart is one of Australia’s most elusive and endangered marsupials - a tiny desert survivor that most people have never even heard of. Weighing less than 40 grams and relying on deep sandy soils and spinifex clumps to hide and hunt, this small carnivorous marsupial plays a crucial role in balancing arid ecosystems.
Once spread more widely across our inland deserts, the Sandhill Dunnart is now found only in a handful of isolated pockets in South and Western Australia. Its numbers are in sharp decline, with threats mounting from feral predators, habitat loss, and increasingly frequent fires. As a result, it’s listed as Endangered, and is at genuine risk of slipping into extinction unnoticed.
In response, FAME has launched a new conservation project dedicated to this species, as part of our Three Safer Havens initiative. This project aims to assess the occupancy of Sandhill Dunnarts within threat-managed areas of the Gawler Ranges. Essential knowledge if we’re to give it a fighting chance.
This work takes on even greater meaning as we approach Threatened Species Day on 7 September - a date that marks the death of the last known Tasmanian Tiger, and a stark reminder of what’s lost when action comes too late.
Learn more and support the project https://www.fame.org.au/projects/protecting-sandhill-dunnarts