Macleay's dorcopsis (''Dorcopsulus macleayi''), also known as the Papuan dorcopsis or the Papuan 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
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest]. Being little threatened by
habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
, the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
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 ...
has rated 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 ...
".
Taxonomy
Macleay's dorcopsis was
first described by the Russian biologist
Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay
Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Миклу́хо-Макла́й; 1846 – 1888) was a Russian Imperial explorer. He worked as an ethnologist, anthropologist and biologist who became famous as one of ...
who named it ''Dorcopsulus macleayi'' in honour of the Australian naturalist
William John Macleay
Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish-Australian politician, Natural history, naturalist, zoologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist.
Early life
Macleay was born at Wick, Highland, Wick, Caithness, Scotland, ...
. It is the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
of the genus.
[ Some authorities consider it to be the same species as the ]small dorcopsis
The small dorcopsis or lesser forest wallaby (''Dorcopsulus vanheurni'') is a species of marsupial in the family Macropodidae. It is found in the mountainous interior of West Papua and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or trop ...
(''Dorcopsulus vanheurni''), which has a much wider distribution in New Guinea, but Groves (2005) supports its status as a separate species.
Description
The species is a small, nocturnal forest wallaby with an average weight of about and fur that is dense and dark brown to black. It differs from ''D. vanheurni'' in having about two-thirds to three-quarters of its tail covered with fur, compared to one half in ''D. vanheurni''.
Distribution
Macleay's dorcopsis 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 southeastern part of the island of New Guinea. It is found in hilly areas and lower montane slopes at altitudes of between where it occurs in both primary and secondary tropical moist forest.
Status
At one time considered to be a "vulnerable species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...
", ''D. macleayi'' is now listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
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 ...
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 ...
"; the area where it lives is inaccessible and largely undisturbed, it is a common species and no particular threats have been identified. The indigenous people hunt this species for food to a limited extent, but not to such a degree as to warrant placing it in a more threatened category.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209742
Macropods
Mammals of Papua New Guinea
Mammals described in 1885
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Marsupials of New Guinea