Brush-tailed rock-wallaby
Brush-tailed 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. penicillata
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Binomial name | |
Petrogale penicillata (J. E. Gray, 1827)[3]
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Brush-tailed rock-wallaby range |
The brush-tailed rock-wallaby or small-eared rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) is a kind of
In 2018, the southern brush-tailed rock wallaby was declared as the official mammal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), although it has not been seen in the wild in the ACT since 1959.[5]
Taxonomy
Petrogale penicillata was first described by John Edward Gray in 1827.[3] The taxon has been named for a species complex, the Petrogale penicillata-lateralis group, the systematics of which continued to be resolved.
Description
A species of
The coloration of the species in the northern parts of population is paler and fur is shorter in length. The black-footed and flanked species Petrogale lateralis, which occurs in central Australia, is distinguished by its larger size and the shorter and darker fur of the tail and hind parts.
Behaviour
The species is able to negotiate difficult rocky terrain with great agility, their compact yet powerful build is assisted by counter-balancing the long tail and feet suited to holding the animal at precarious edges and on inclined surfaces. The species favours north facing refuges, and while largely nocturnal in venturing out from shelter they will bask in winter sun for short periods. Procreation is founded on breeding females utilising a single male for insemination, with births that occur throughout the year. Groups in cooler latitudes or higher altitudes may tend to reproduce in a period between February and May. The females of the colony cohere as maternal groups, with male progeny moving to other groups within the colony or migrating to another location. Individual foraging territories for the species are around 15 hectares, perhaps more for males.[7]
Distribution and habitat
Found along the Great Dividing Range in fragmented populations that remain after its historical contraction in range from the east and south. The southern edge of the range is the Grampians, and no further west than the Warrumbungles range in New South Wales. The northernmost groups have remained less affected by ecological changes, these are found in southeast Queensland.
Petrogale penicillata shelters during the day in rocky habitat, within vegetation or cavities of preferably complex terrain that allows them to find cooler temperatures and to elude or remain inaccessible to predators. Their great agility while hopping and climbing provides opportunities at ledges, cliff-faces, overhangs, caves and crevices.[7]
Introduced populations
As part of the
In 2003 some Kawau brush-tails were relocated to the Waterfall Springs Conservation Park north of Sydney, New South Wales, for captive breeding purposes.
Due to an escape of a pair in 1916, a small breeding population of the brush-tailed rock-wallabies also exists in the
.Attempts at reintroduction into the Grampians National Park during 2008-12 were not successful, largely due to fox predation.[11] Nevertheless, March 2017 saw the emergence of a fourth offspring, bringing the total number of rock–wallabies present within the Grampians National Park to eight.[12]
Conservation
The Brush-tailed rock wallaby was once common throughout South-East Australia, but due to clearing of native habitat, exotic plant introduction, predation by introduced species and changing fire patterns as a result of climate change they have been wiped out from much of their Southern and Western ranges.
In late 2019 fierce bushfires swept through New South Wales and Victoria, burning protected areas inhabited by the wallaby. It is estimated that 70% of all brush-tailed rock-wallaby habitat was destroyed. In the aftermath of the fires in Victoria, where the wallaby was thought to have been hunted to extinction by the early 20th century by settlers who prized its fur and skin, until some who had survived were discovered in the Grampians in 1970,[13] a colony of 13 has been detected in the Grampians National Park while a further 50 are known to exist in the Snowy River National Park.[14]
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Gray, J.E. (1827). "Synopsis of the species of mammalia". In Griffith, E.; Pidgeon, E.; Smith, C.H. (eds.). The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organisation by the Baron Cuvier, member of the Institute of France etc. with additional descriptions of all the species hitherto named, and of many not before noticed. Vol. 5. pp. 185–206 [204].
- ISBN 0-19-550870-X
- ^ "ACT receives new mammal emblem". 29 November 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780195573954.
- ^ a b c "Brush-tailed Rock-wallaby - profile". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. NSW Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ISBN 0-478-22272-6.
- ^ "Rock wallabies". Catalyst. ABC. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ^ "Saving the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby". Waterfall Springs Wildlife Sanctuary. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- S2CID 87455828.
- ^ Hayter, Rachel (12 March 2017). "Joey marks end of 'tough times' for resurgent rock-wallabies in western Victoria". ABC News. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-486-30769-2pp.73-74.
- ^ Miki Perkins, 'Incredibly exciting': These marsupials are endangered. Now, there's new life and hope, The Age 20 October 2020.
External links
- Brush-tailed rock-wallaby recovery in NSW (Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife)
- Brush-tailed rock-wallaby population in Green Gully - a conservation case study
- Brush-tailed rock-wallaby habitat modelling
- BBC video of brush-tailed rock-wallabies in action Archived 2011-07-29 at the Wayback Machine
- The Aussie Brush-Tailed Rock-Wallaby Ark Conservation Project Archived 2021-05-13 at the Wayback Machine