The brown dorcopsis (''Dorcopsis muelleri''), also known as the brown forest wallaby, is a species of
marsupial
Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...
in the family
Macropodidae
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 ar ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the lowlands of
West New Guinea
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...
and the nearby
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n islands in
West Papua of
Misool
Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (Dutch: Misoöl) or Misol, is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 2,034 km2. The highest point is 561 m and the main towns are Waigama, located ...
,
Salawati
Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua (formerly West Papua), Indonesia. Its area is 1,623 km2. Salawati is separated from New Guinea to the southeast by the Sele Strait (a.k.a. Galowa Strai ...
, and
Yapen
Yapen (also Japan, Jobi) is an island of Papua, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. To the west is Mios Num Island a ...
.
Description
Five subspecies of ''Dorcopsis muelleri'' are recognised. The dorsal colour is dull brown, chocolate brown, reddish brown or fawn and the underparts are whitish, creamy-yellow or greyish. The arms are sometimes paler than the dorsal surface and the tip of the tail is devoid of hair.
Distribution and habitat
The brown dorcopsis is endemic to the western end of New Guinea and the islands to the west of this,
Misool
Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (Dutch: Misoöl) or Misol, is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 2,034 km2. The highest point is 561 m and the main towns are Waigama, located ...
and
Salawati
Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua (formerly West Papua), Indonesia. Its area is 1,623 km2. Salawati is separated from New Guinea to the southeast by the Sele Strait (a.k.a. Galowa Strai ...
and possibly also
Batanta
Batanta is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Its area is 453 km² and its highest point is 1184 m. The Pitt Strait separates it from Salawati, while the Dampier Strait separate ...
and
Waigeo
Waigeo is an island in Southwest Papua province of eastern Indonesia. The island is also known as Amberi, or Waigiu. It is the largest of the four main islands in the Raja Ampat Islands
Raja Ampat, or the ''Four Kings'', is an archipelago loc ...
.
[ Its typical habitat is swampy tropical lowland forest including areas that flood in the rainy season, and it is believed to be tolerant of secondary forest, including abandoned gardens.]
Archaeology
Many bones have been found in the deposits on the floor of two caves used by hunters, the result of 26,000 years of human occupation of this area of western New Guinea. 80% of the animal bones belonged to the brown dorcopsis, known locally as "djief", and the occupants of these caves are consequently known as "djief hunters".[Pasveer, J. M. (2004) ''The Djief Hunters, 26,000 Years of Rainforest Exploitation on the Bird's Head of Papua, Indonesia.'' p. 204. Modern Quaternary Research in Southeast Asia, vol. 17. ]
Status
The brown dorcopsis has a broad distribution. It is common in the south coastal part of its range but less common in the centre of the Vogelkop Peninsula
The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...
and overall its population seems to be stable. Much of its range is uninhabited by humans, but it is also present in areas close to human habitation. Its habitat can be affected by logging, especially on Yapen Island
Yapen (also Japan, Jobi) is an island of Papua, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. To the west is Mios Num Island a ...
, and the clearing of forested land for small-scale agriculture
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
. Although it is hunted for food, it faces no major threats, and therefore the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
lists it as being of "Least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
".
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209618
Macropods
Mammals of Western New Guinea
Mammals described in 1827
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Marsupials of New Guinea