Purple-necked rock-wallaby

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Purple-necked rock-wallaby
Petrogale purpureicollis.jpg
Near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Genus: Petrogale
Species:
P. purpureicollis
Binomial name
Petrogale purpureicollis
(Le Souef, 1924)
Purple-necked Rock Wallaby area.png
Purple-necked rock-wallaby range

The purple-necked rock-wallaby (Petrogale purpureicollis) is a species of rock-wallaby first described in 1924 by Albert Sherbourne Le Souef, then director of the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, who noted a purple colouration around the neck and cranial features that distinguish it from other rock-wallaby species.

The purple colouration was thought by some sceptical scientists to be due to the animal rubbing against a dye, but the animal does in fact secrete a purple pigment. The pigment is known to wash off in the rain and fade away after death, causing some possible confusion with other rock-wallaby species.

The species has undergone taxonomic upheaval for decades and has variously been classified as an unadorned rock-wallaby, brush-tailed rock-wallaby, and black-flanked rock-wallaby. Le Souef and others have asserted that it was a new species, and this has been affirmed by a 2001 paper in the Australian Journal of Zoology.

Related Research Articles

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A wallaby is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and sometimes the same genus, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the four largest species of the family. The term "wallaby" is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macropodidae</span> Family of marsupial mammals

Macropodidae is a family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, quokkas, and several other groups. These genera are allied to the suborder Macropodiformes, containing other macropods, and are native to the Australian continent, New Guinea and nearby islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brush-tailed rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The brush-tailed rock-wallaby or small-eared rock-wallaby is a kind of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus Petrogale. It inhabits rock piles and cliff lines along the Great Dividing Range from about 100 km north-west of Brisbane to northern Victoria, in vegetation ranging from rainforest to dry sclerophyl forests. Populations have declined seriously in the south and west of its range, but it remains locally common in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. However, due to a large bushfire event in South-East Australia around 70% of all the wallaby's habitat has been lost as of January 2020.

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The yellow-footed rock-wallaby, formerly known as the ring-tailed rock-wallaby, is a member of the macropod family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-flanked rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-wallaby</span> Genus of marsupials

The rock-wallabies are the wallabies of the genus Petrogale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-eared rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The allied rock-wallaby or Weasel rock-wallaby is a species of rock-wallaby found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It forms part of the P. lateralis/penicillata species complex and is very similar to six other species of rock-wallaby found in this area; these include the Cape York rock-wallaby, the unadorned rock-wallaby, the Herbert's rock-wallaby, the Godman's rock-wallaby, the Mareeba rock-wallaby and the Mount Claro rock-wallaby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert's rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

Herbert's rock-wallaby is a member of a group of seven very closely related rock-wallabies found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. Herbert's is the most southerly and most widespread of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mareeba rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The Mareeba rock-wallaby is a rare species of rock-wallaby found around Mareeba in northeastern Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Claro rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The Mount Claro rock-wallaby, also known as Sharman's rock-wallaby, is a species of rock-wallaby found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It is a member of a group of seven very closely related species also including Godman's rock-wallaby and Herbert's rock-wallaby.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern short-eared rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The eastern short-eared rock-wallaby or Wilkins' rock-wallaby is a species of rock-wallaby found in the northernmost parts of the Northern Territory of Australia, and is common in the Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. It was thought to be a subpopulation of the short-eared rock-wallaby Petrogale brachyotis found in the Kimberley, but recent genetic and morphological studies have shown it to be distinct. Wilkins' rock-wallaby is smaller, has more distinct grey/brown markings on its head and sides, and more colourful limbs than the western species.

References

  1. Burbidge, A.A.; Woinarski, J. (2016). "Petrogale purpureicollis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T136463A21955566. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T136463A21955566.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.