Tammar wallaby
Tammar wallaby | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Diprotodontia |
Family: | Macropodidae |
Genus: | Notamacropus |
Species: | N. eugenii
|
Binomial name | |
Notamacropus eugenii (Desmarest, 1817)
| |
Current tammar wallaby range. Pink areas are where they have been reintroduced. | |
Synonyms[1] | |
|
The tammar wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii), also known as the dama wallaby or darma wallaby, is a small
The tammar wallaby is among the smallest of the
Taxonomy and classification
The tammar wallaby was seen in the
The tammar wallaby is traditionally classified together with the kangaroos, wallaroos and several other species of wallaby in the genus Macropus, and in the subgenus Notamacropus with the other brush wallabies, all of which have a facial stripe.[7] However, some authors have proposed elevating the three subgenera of Macropus, Macropus (sensu stricto), Osphranter, and Notamacropus into distinct genera, making the tammar's specific name Notamacropus eugenii.[8] This has been supported by genetic studies.[9][10]
Fossil evidence of the tammar wallaby exists from the
A 1991 examination of tammar wallaby skulls from different parts of the species' range found that the populations can be divided into three distinct groups: one group consisting of the populations from mainland Western Australia, East and West Wallabi Islands, Garden Island and Middle Island; a second group consisting of the populations from Flinders Island, 19th-century mainland Southern Australia and New Zealand; and a third group consisting of the population from Kangaroo Island.[11] The Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation listed these populations as the subspecies Macropus eugenii derbianus, M. e. eugenii and M. e. decres, respectively.[5]
A 2017 study found many genetic differences between tammars from Western and South Australia and comparably little between the Kangaroo island and introduced New Zealand tammars. The researchers proposed dividing the species into two subspecies; the subspecific name eugenii for South Australian tammars and derbianus for those from Western Australia.[12]
Characteristics and adaptations
One of the smallest wallaby species, the tammar wallaby features a proportionally small head with large ears, and an elongated tail, with a thick base.[13] It has dark greyish upperparts with a paler underside and rufous-coloured sides and limbs.[5] The tammar wallaby exhibits great sexual dimorphism, males reaching 9.1 kg (20 lb) in weight compared to 6.9 kg (15 lb) for females. Males are 59 to 68 cm (23–27 in) long while females are 52 to 63 cm (20–25 in), while both sexes stand 45 cm (18 in) tall. The tail has a length of 34 to 45 cm (13–18 in) for males and 33 to 44 cm (13–17 in) for females.[13]
Locomotion
As with most macropods, the tammar wallaby moves around by hopping. This species typically leaps 0.8 to 2.4 m (2.6–7.9 ft) with 3.5 landings per second.[14] Proximal muscles at the knee and hip joints provide the power for each leap, which shifts to the ankle muscles as the animal pushes off.[15] As it lands, the energy of the jump is converted into strain energy made when its leg tendons are stretched. As it leaps back off the ground, the tammar wallaby can recover much of this energy for reuse through elastic recoil.[16] When on the move, animal's respiration is tried to its hopping cycle, inhaling when leaping and exhaling when landing. As it moves faster, its heart rate increases nearly twice as much as its hopping frequency.[14]
The amount of energy stored in the tendons increases with the animal's speed and the weight of the load it is carrying. This is particularly helpful for mothers carrying young,[17] and explains why tammar wallabies can increase their hopping speed without using more energy.[18] The tammar wallaby shares this characteristic with other macropods that move on flat terrain, like the red kangaroo. By comparison, rock-wallabies, such as the yellow-footed rock-wallaby, have traded efficient energy-saving for greater tendon strength: an adaption for rocky cliffs which allows them to leap higher and lowers the risk of their tendons breaking.[19]
Senses
The tammar wallaby can see at 324°
The
Thermoregulation and water balance
Tammar wallabies lick their forearms and pant to keep cool in hot weather. They breathe more heavily and lose more water when the temperature is over 30 °C (86 °F). Tammar wallabies cannot survive in temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) and must find cooler surroundings.
Ecology and life history
During the day, tammar wallabies stay close to scrub for shade and move out to more open grassland by nightfall.In winter their home ranges are about 16 ha (40 acres), but in the dry summers they range further afield to search for quality food, needing about 42 ha (100 acres) of space. Tammar wallaby
Tammar wallabies gather into groups which lessens the chance of an individual being taken by a predator. As the group increases in size, tammar wallabies spend more time feeding, grooming, and interacting and less time being vigilant and moving around. They are also more likely to rest on their sides rather than in a more alert posture where their head is held up.[27] Predators of the tammar wallaby include dingoes, feral cats, red foxes and wedge-tailed eagles. They may also have been preyed upon by the extinct thylacine. Tammar wallabies appear to respond more to the sight than the sound of predators.[28] They can also use their acute sense of smell to detect a potential threat.[29] When a predator is detected, a tammar wallaby will alert others by thumping its foot.[28] When lost, young tammar wallabies are known to emit a distress call and adult females may respond with a similar call.[30]
Breeding and development
The tammar wallaby has a
The female tammar wallaby is receptive shortly after giving birth.[4]: 338 Tammar wallabies undergo embryonic diapause and the blastocyst remains dormant for nearly a year.[34] A joey in the pouch prevents the blastocyst from developing for the first six months and experiments have shown that removing the joey within this time period will stimulate the blastocyst's development. However, after this, the blastocyst remains dormant even after the joey has left. It begins to develop by the summer solstice at the end of December.[35][36][4]: 338 A 2019 study found that more males are born due to a greater amount of Y chromosome sperm in sires. To balance out the sex ratios, tammar mothers are more likely to abandon male joeys and more females survive to weaning periods.[37]
The lactation period of the tammar is divided into phases 2A, 2B, and 3 (pregnancy is labeled phase 1). Phase 2A encompasses the first 100–120 days after birth, and the underdeveloped young is fed diluted milk which is richer in
Health
In one population of tammar wallabies, the
Population dynamics and conservation
The tammar wallaby is listed as
Since European colonisation, tammar wallabies on both mainland Australia and some of the islands have greatly declined or even been eradicated. In the early 20th century, the mainland population in Western Australia was described as numerous throughout the southwest, but declining in agricultural areas to the north.[47] Clearings made for wheat and sheep caused the population to fall even further. Starting in the 19th century, tammar wallabies in the Eyre Peninsula and around Adelaide were decimated by mobs of hunters protecting agriculture. As a result, they were extirpated from both these areas in the 20th century. Tammars from Flinders Island and St Peter Island were eradicated in a similar manner.[4]: 332–33
Tammar wallabies from these areas were introduced to
In 1985, tammar wallabies were introduced to the
Resistance to sodium fluoroacetate
Different tammar wallaby populations have varying levels of resistance to sodium fluoroacetate. Mainland Western Australian tammar wallabies appear to be the most resistant, while those on Kangaroo Island are much more vulnerable.[56] Tammar wallabies from New Zealand are also vulnerable, as poison has been successfully used to control their populations.[4]: 334 Tammar wallabies from East and West Wallabi Islands and Garden Island, which do not have plants containing sodium fluoroacetate, are less resistant than mainland Western Australian tammar wallabies, but are more resistant than those from Kangaroo Island.[56] This suggests that tammar wallabies originated in South Australia and developed a resistance to sodium fluoroacetate when they reached Western Australia, where the poison is found in plants.[4]: 334
Use in science
The tammar wallaby is a
The
In 2011, the tammar would become the second marsupial to have its full genome sequenced after the
A compound in the milk of the tammar wallaby called
References
- ^ . Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-642-55185-6. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
- ISBN 9781486300136.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-643-06257-3.
- ^ a b c d e "Tammar Wallaby". Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-86189-922-4.
members of this subspecies are also known as darma or dama Wallabies
- ^ .
- ISBN 9781486300136.
- ^ PMID 29196678.
- ^ . Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- .
- PMID 28257440.
- ^ a b Labiano-Abello, A. M. "Macropus eugenii Tammar wallaby". Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
- ^ PMID 3585241.
- PMID 15601876.
- PMID 9319738.
- S2CID 204997705.
- PMID 1590472.
- PMID 16861021.
- S2CID 26921911.
- S2CID 38418882.
- .
- PMID 19638443.
- PMID 5367360.
- .
- doi:10.1071/ZO98038.
- S2CID 15306373.
- ^ .
- PMID 21861852.
- PMID 4782236.
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 978-0-643-09662-2.
- PMID 7175821.
- ^ PMID 20150075.
- PMID 4791592.
- PMID 27168485.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 31031909.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 27528357.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 12604644.
- S2CID 85378202.
- S2CID 91379130.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Tammar Wallaby Sudden Death Syndrome (TSDS) Fact Sheet" (PDF). Australian Wildlife Health Network. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- PMID 23186095.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISSN 1324-4272.
- ISBN 978-0643091504.
- S2CID 750821.
- .
- ^ "Conservation genetics – molecular detectives at work". Australian Academy of Science. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- .
- .
- ISSN 0110-6465.
- ^ "Wallabies – Culling" (PDF). Minutes of the Western Australian Legislative Council, Tuesday 19 February 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ "Tamar Wallaby Reintroduction: To breed and reintroduce Tamar wallabies into their former range in Australia". World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ "'Extinct' wallaby goes back on show". ABC News. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- S2CID 92044165.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ .
- PMID 28721206.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - S2CID 186239997.
- S2CID 29873656.
- PMID 21854559.
- S2CID 5510804.
- S2CID 83757736.
- PMID 28379301.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 27552114.
- ^ "Fighting superbugs with milk". New Scientist. 20 April 2006. Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
- PMID 21912615.
- S2CID 206534060.
- PMID 25495654.
External links
- Data related to Macropus eugenii at Wikispecies
- Tammar wallaby resources Archived 9 April 2013 at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
- Tammar wallaby facts National Zoological Park