Nail-tail wallaby
Nail-tail wallabies | |
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Crescent nail-tail wallaby | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Diprotodontia |
Family: | Macropodidae |
Subfamily: | Macropodinae |
Genus: | Onychogalea Gray, 1841 |
Type species | |
Gould, 1841
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Species | |
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Nail-tail wallaby refers to Onychogalea, a genus describing three species of macropods, all of which are found in Australia. Related to kangaroos and wallabies, they are smaller sized species distinguished by a horny spur at the end of their tail. The northern nail-tail wallaby is still common in the northern part of Australia,[1] the crescent nail-tail is now extinct,[2] and the bridled nail-tail is considered rare and endangered, with probably fewer than 1100 mature individuals in the wild.[3] Nail-tail wallabies are smaller than many other wallabies.[4]
Taxonomy[]
There are three recognised species of the genus Onychogalea, the nail-tailed wallabies, they are:[5]
- Onychogalea fraenata, the bridled nailtail, whose range and population has greatly declined since colonisation;
- Onychogalea lunata, the crescent nailtail, warong, once abundant and widespread across the southwest and centre, the smallest species entered a rapid decline and became extinct;
- Onychogalea unguifera the northern species, still extant in the Kimberley and Top End regions.
Description[]
A genus of Macropodidae, small and herbivorous species with a shy disposition. The earliest descriptions noted their elegant shape, graceful movements and beautiful markings.[6] Named for one of their general characteristics, the nail-tailed wallaby has a horny point two or three millimetres wide at the tip of the tail, an almost unknown characteristic for a mammal that has been compared to the bony spur of a lion's tail.[7][6]
References[]
- ^ International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources "Onychogalea unguifera", The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2008
- ^ International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources "Onychogalea lunata", The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2008
- ^ International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources "Onychogalea fraenata", The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2008
- ^ Menkhorst, Peter (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press. p. 124.
- ^ 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. 63. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Gould, J. (1863). "Introduction". The mammals of Australia. Vol. 1. p. xxi.
- ^ Thomas, O. (1888). Catalogue of the Marsupialia and Monotremata in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). London. p. 77.
External links[]
Media related to Onychogalea at Wikimedia Commons
- Macropods
- Marsupials of Australia
- Taxa named by John Edward Gray