The eastern hare-wallaby (''Lagorchestes leporides''), once also known as the common hare wallaby, is an extinct species of

wallaby 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 som ...

that was native to southeastern Australia. It was first described by

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

in 1841.

Description

The eastern hare-wallaby was a small macropod, slightly larger and more slender than its surviving relative the

rufous hare-wallaby The rufous hare-wallaby (''Lagorchestes hirsutus''), also known as the mala, is a small macropod found in Australia. It was formerly widely distributed across the western half of the continent, but naturally occurring populations are now confine ...

. It had a body length of about 50 centimeters and a 33 centimeter long tail. Its fur colour varied from black through brown to yellow with a greyish-white belly.

Ecology and behaviour

Very little is known about this wallaby. It was a strictly nocturnal animal which led a solitary lifestyle. During the day it sat still in a well-formed 'seat', usually in the shelter of a

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to '' Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

or a tussock. If approached too closely, it would bound off at great speed. One wallaby was chased by

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s for 500 metres and suddenly doubled back and came back within 6 metres of John Gould and leapt over his head; it could jump 1.8 metres high.

Extinction

The last known specimen of this species was a female collected in August 1889 in New South Wales. There were no further sightings of this species, even though researchers well into the 1930s were still uncertain of its extinction. The cause of its extinction remains uncertain, as it died out before

intensive agriculture Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

was introduced throughout its distribution and before the red fox became common in its habitat. Several causes of its extinction have been suggested, including trampling of its grassland habitat by

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

and

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

, changed burning regimes, or predation by introduced cats.

Description

Ecology and behaviour

Extinction

References

Further reading