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 female's skin, without 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. The author honoured a patron of Tunney's expeditions in the naming of the species, Walter Rothschild, whose special interest in Macropodidae was also noted.[3]
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.[5]
The head and body length combined is 470–600 millimetres, with a long tail recorded as 550–700 mm; the colour of the tail becomes dark brown for around a third of its length. 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.[5] The population found at the islands of the Dampier Archipelago are smaller than those on the mainland, the weight range is from 2.6 to 3.5 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.[5]
Distribution and range
Found only in the Ashburton and Pilbara regions, they are known at Burrup Peninsula and both the Chichester Range and Hamersley Ranges. Petrogale rothschildi also occurs on islands of the Dampier Archipelago, these are Burrup, Dolphin, Enderby and Rosemary and West Lewis islands.[5] The area occupied in historical periods is not known to have significantly contracted. The distribution range has been extended to the south and east on contemporary sighting information collected in 2013. The southern most records are from Newman] to the west at Barlee Range and Wanna Station. Any former overlap in range with Petrogale lateralis lateralis, at an eastern most boundary, has not been determined. They are recorded as far north as Marble Bar and to the west at Woodstock Station.[6]
Conservation
The species is not noted on state or federal Australian conservation listings.[7] A Western Australian management plan published in 2013 included P. rothschildi amongst the five species of rock wallaby identified for recovery actions to protect them from threatening factors to the populations.[6]
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 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.
- ^ a b c Pearson, D.J. (2013). Recovery plan for five species of rock wallabies: Black-footed rock wallaby (Petrogale lateralis), Rothschild rock wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi), Short-eared rock wallaby (Petrogale brachyotis), Monjon (Petrogale burbidgei) and Nabarlek (Petrogale concinna) 2012-2022. Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth, WA. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/recovery-plan-five-species-rock-wallabies. In effect under the EPBC Act from 30-Jan-2014 as Petrogale lateralis West Kimberley race.
- ^ Department of the Environment. "Petrogale lateralis West Kimberley race — Black-footed Rock-wallaby (West Kimberley race)". Species Profile and Threats Database.