Motion-sensitive cameras in the northern Wheatbelt have captured footage of a rare marsupial.
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The Woolley's False Antechinushas, scientific name Pseudantechinus woolleyae, was spotted on night cameras at Hughes Block late last year.
Consultant ecologists Dr Nic Dunlop and Alison Goundrey said they were amazed to see the marsupial appear on the cameras.
Rarely sighted since its recognition in 1988, the Woolley's False Antechinus has not yet been given a common name or conservation status, however it is likely to be a threatened species due to the destruction of its natural habitat.
"This is an unexpected and wonderful outcome," Ms Goundrey said.
The ecologists are part of a volunteer team from the Carbon Neutral Citizen Science Program operating within the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor, a Carbon Neutral plantation region designed to sequester carbon.
Dr Dunlop said the discovery was thought to be the first record of the small, carnivorous marsupial in the Wheatbelt.
It feeds on insects, scorpions, centipedes and small lizards.
"They were found at Karara prior to mining activity and are thought to be present in the Mungada Ridge National Park, about 65 kilometres further inland from the Perenjori Hills," Dr Dunlop said.
The Woolley's False Antechinushas are known to be in small, isolated populations in the arid zone of the Mid West in the rangelands at Jack Hills, Mt Jackson and Bungalbin Hill.
The marsupial was captured on camera in the Hughes Block area, which recently became one of 58 areas listed as a Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) in WA under the Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Chief commercial officer at Carbon Neutral, Ray Wilson, said the image captured of the rare species had motivated the organisation to act.
"Carbon Neutral owns and has a stewardship responsibility to manage 1000 hectares of remnant vegetation on Hughes Block adjoining parts of its extensive biodiverse carbon sink plantings in the north-eastern Wheatbelt," Mr Wilson said.
"The area has been declared a critically endangered ecological community and the intention is to create a sanctuary to protect the Woolley's False Antechinushas and other threatened species."
