Golden-mantled tree-kangaroo
Species of marsupial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The golden-mantled tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) is a critically endangered, furry, bear-like mammal found only in mountain rain forests on the island of New Guinea (split between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). Like other tree-kangaroos (genus Dendrolagus), it lives in trees and feeds on plant matter. It belongs to the macropod family (Macropodidae) with kangaroos, and carries its young in a pouch like other marsupials. The range is restricted to two small mountain areas in the north (the Foja and Torricelli Mountains) and it is threatened by hunting and habitat loss.
| Golden-mantled tree-kangaroo[1] | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Macropodidae |
| Genus: | Dendrolagus |
| Species: | D. pulcherrimus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dendrolagus pulcherrimus Flannery, 1993 | |
 | |
| Golden-mantled tree-kangaroo range * Red = Foja Mountains * Black = Torricelli Mountains | |
Distribution
It is native to two locations on the island: the Torricelli Mountains of northwestern Papua New Guinea; and the Foja Mountains of northeastern Papua Province, in Western New Guinea of Indonesia.[2]
It has been recorded at elevations between 680–1,700 metres (2,230–5,580 ft). There are fossil records from Vogelkop Peninsula in West Papua and other places.[2]
Description
This marsupial has a chestnut brown short coat with a pale belly, and yellowish neck, cheeks and feet. A double golden stripe runs down its back. The tail is long and has pale rings.
Its appearance is similar to the closely related Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo. It differs from the latter by having a pinkish or lighter coloured face, golden shoulders, white ears and smaller size. Some authorities consider the golden-mantled tree-kangaroo as a subspecies of Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo.
Conservation
The golden-mantled tree-kangaroo is considered to be one of the most endangered of all tree-kangaroos. It has been extirpated from most of its original range. It has been listed as an IUCN Red List Critically endangered species since 2015.[2] The population in the Torricelli Range is now effectively protected by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance.[3]
Taxonomy
The Foja Mountains population in Papua Province was described in 1993 by naturalist Ruby McCullers.[4] The Torricelli Mountains population in Sandaun Province was discovered by McCullers in 2005, and described by Australian naturalist Tim Flannery in 2006.[5]