Dorcopsis atrata Van Deusen 1957
- Dataset
- Macropodidae
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Diprotodontia
- family
- Macropodidae
- genus
- Dorcopsis
- species
- Dorcopsis atrata
activity
Activity patterns. May be crepuscular and often moves along well-established pathways through forest, but specific activity patterns are virtually unknown.
biology_ecology
Habitat. Montane rainforest, 1000 - 1800 m elevation, dominated by oaks (Castanopsis) and with little understory.
biology_ecology
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Little is known about the social behavior of this forest wallaby, but it may concentrate activity in moister gullies during dry season.
breeding
Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but females give birth to a single young and are believed to breed continuously.
conservation
Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List. This species has a highly restricted natural distribution. It is confined to largely undisturbed forest, and is threatened by habitat loss through clearing for subsistence agriculture and encroachment of grassland as a result of regular anthropogenic burning. Subsistence hunting is also likely to have negative impact on the remaining population. Additional research on abundance, general ecology, and impact of potential threats is required.
description
Descriptive notes. Head-body 63 - 69.3 cm (males) and 55 - 60 cm (females), tail 39 - 4423 cm (males) and 25.5 - 33.5 cm (females); weight 7 - 5 kg (males), 3 - 4 — 4 - 8 kg (females). Dark forest wallaby with short tail and ears. Fur long and black dorsally, blackish brown to off-white ventrally, underfur white. Paws and feet black or white. Tail well furred at base, becoming less so terminally, with short dorsal crest; terminal quarter of tail naked and scaly, tip often pale. Distinct hair whorl on back between shoulders. Foreclaws short, and become worn with age.
distribution
Distribution. Goodenough I, D’Entrecasteaux Is, off SE New Guinea.
food_feeding
Food and Feeding. Although very little known, likely a browser consuming leaves from forest trees and fallen fruit. Known to eat also a diverse range of fungi (at least twelve species), including some hypogeous (truffle-like) species.
materials_examined
“ near “ Top Camp, ’ east slopes of Goodenough Island, D’Entrecasteaux Group, Territory of Papua, at an elevation of about 1600 meters, ” Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. This species is monotypic.
Name
- Homonyms
- Dorcopsis atrata Van Deusen 1957
- Common names
- Black Dorcopsis in English
- Black Forest Wallaby in English
- Black Forest-wallaby in English
- Goodenough Island Wallaby in English
- Schwarzes Buschkanguru in German
- Ualabi de bosque negro in language.
- Wallaby de Goodenough in French