Rothschild's rock-wallaby
| Rothschild's rock-wallaby[1] | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Macropodidae |
| Genus: | Petrogale |
| Species: | P. rothschildi
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| Binomial name | |
| Petrogale rothschildi | |
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| Rothschild's rock-wallaby range | |
Rothschild's rock-wallaby – Petrogale rothschildi – sometimes known as the Roebourne rock-wallaby, is a species of macropod found in Western Australia, in the Pilbara district and the Dampier Archipelago.[4] It is not currently considered to be threatened,[2] but is at risk from the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).[4]
Rothschild's rock-wallaby is one of the largest rock-wallabies, and also one of the most attractive. It is mostly a golden-brown colour with a greyish wash down its neck, which often has a purple appearance. It is a mostly nocturnal grass-eater found mostly around rocky ground.[4]
Taxonomy
Petrogale rothschildi was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1904, describing a skin provided by J. T. Tunney's collection from the Northwest of Australia. Tunney's specimen was a prepared skin that lacked a skull, collected in July 1901 at Cossack River. Thomas saw an affinity with what was term the Petrogale pencillatus-lateralis group, but distinguished enough characteristics to propose a new species of the rock wallabies.[3]
The species has been regarded as form of Petrogale lateralis and noted as the 'West Kimberley race'.[5]
Description
A species of Petrogale, the rock wallabies, one of the largest of the genus. The fur colour at the upperside is a golden shade of brown, becoming greyish at the shoulders and rear of the neck. The top of the head and muzzle is dark brown, contrasting the paler grey-buff at the lower muzzle that extends below the eyes to the upper surface of the ear. The pelage sometimes has a purplish hue, most evident at the shoulder and head.[6]
The head and body length combined is 470–600 millimetres, with a long and darkly tipped tail recorded as 550–700 mm. The length of the ear from its point to the base is 56 mm. The weight range of Petrogale rothschildi is 3.7–6.6 kilograms.[6]
Behaviour
The species usually seeks shelter during the day in the cooler temperatures provided by the crevices and caves of its favoured habitat. Rothchild's rock-wallaby occurs at hummocks on scree slopes and around boulder piles and cliff faces. They feed nocturnally beyond their daytime refuge, venturing out to seek green vegetation such as grasses on the surrounding sand plains.[6]
Distribution and range
Found only in the Pilbara region, they are known at Burrup Peninsula and both the Chichester Range and at the Hamersley Range. Petrogale rothschildi also occurs on islands of the Dampier Archipelago, these are Burrup, Dolphin, Enderby and Rosemary and West Lewis Island.[6]
Conservation
The conservation status of the species, recognised as 'Petrogale lateralis West Kimberley race', was listed as vulnerable. The species is not noted on state or federal Australian conservation listings since 2009.[5]
References
- ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 68. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Template:IUCN2008
- ^ a b Thomas, O. (1904). "On a new rock-wallaby from north-west Australia". Novitates zoologicae : a journal of zoology in connection with the Tring Museum. 11: 365–366. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.26837.
- ^ a b c Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 128.
- ^ a b Department of the Environment. "Petrogale lateralis West Kimberley race — Black-footed Rock-wallaby (West Kimberley race)". Species Profile and Threats Database.
- ^ a b c d Menkhorst, P.W.; Knight, F. (2011). A field guide to the mammals of Australia (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. ???. ISBN 9780195573954.