The monjon (''Petrogale burbidgei'') is the smallest
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of rock-wallabies (''
Petrogale
The rock-wallabies are the wallabies of the genus ''Petrogale''.
Taxonomy
The genus was established in 1837 by John Edward Gray in a revision of material at the British Museum of Natural History. Gray nominated his earlier description of ''Kan ...
'') and is found in north-west Australia. They are restricted to a small area of the
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
region and on nearby islands in the
Bonaparte Archipelago
The Bonaparte Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia in the Kimberley region, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. The closest inhabited place is Kalumburu located about to the east of the island group. Th ...
. Common names also include Burbidge's rock-wallaby and Burbidge's rock-weasel.
[Strahan, Ronald, ''Mammals of Australia'' (1995) p. 368]
Taxonomy
The monjon is a small species of
macropod placed in the genus ''
Petrogale
The rock-wallabies are the wallabies of the genus ''Petrogale''.
Taxonomy
The genus was established in 1837 by John Edward Gray in a revision of material at the British Museum of Natural History. Gray nominated his earlier description of ''Kan ...
'' (the rock-wallabies). The first published description of the species was in 1978, based on specimens collected and reviewed by
D. J. Kitchener
Darrell John Kitchener (born 1943) is a biologist who has been active in mammalian research in Western Australia and Indonesia. He is the author of over one hundred papers, published while employed as the senior research biologist at the Western ...
and G. Sanson. The type specimen is a female that weighed 1400 grams, shot by Kitchener in a sandstone crevice during an evening in November, 1976, The location of his collection was the
Mitchell Plateau
Mitchell River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northeast of Perth. The park adjoins the northern boundary of the Prince Regent National Park. The nearest towns are Derby, to the southwest, as wel ...
, near to a site named Crystal Creek. The animal was carrying a baby in its pouch, weighing around 50 g and without fur.
Other specimens were obtained at the Mitchell Plateau, and from
Boongaree,
Katers and
Bigge Island
Bigge Island is an island off the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley.
The island lies approximately from the mainland, from which it is separated by Scott Strait. It is located betw ...
in the
Bonaparte Archipelago
The Bonaparte Archipelago is a group of islands off the coast of Western Australia in the Kimberley region, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. The closest inhabited place is Kalumburu located about to the east of the island group. Th ...
, and within the
Prince Regent National Park
Prince Regent National Park, formerly the Prince Regent Nature Reserve, is a protected area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 1978 the area was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
Land
The national park covers a tot ...
.
The specific epithet was named for Andrew A. Burbidge, who was credited with prompting surveys of mammals of the Kimberley region.
Burbidge later wrote a paper on the selection of the vernacular for the species. One author of the first description, Kitchener, published the suggested vernacular as warabi, a term he was informed was the animal's name in the Wunumbal language, and this was adopted by the Australian Mammal Society and used by the editor
Ronald Strahan
Ronald Strahan (1922–2010) was a zoologist, historian and author of works on the fauna of Australia.
Strahan graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1947, furthering his studies at Oxford and other universities in Hong Kong and Ne ...
for the mammalian volume of the ''
National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife
The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife was founded as a project of the Australian Museum on 3 June 1969 (as the National Photographic Index of Australian Birds) to compile a comprehensive collection of photographs of Australian bir ...
'' (1983). In later consultations with the local peoples, several synonyms were identified for Burbidge and while those familiar with the animals could readily identify the separate taxa, these names refer to both ''
Petrogale concinna
Nabarleks (''Petrogale concinna''), are a tiny species of Macropodidae, macropod found in northern Australia. They are a shy and nocturnal animal that resides in rocky hollows and forages in the surrounding area. Their diet is grasses, sedges, a ...
'' and to this species. This re-examination was instigated by the information that ''warabi'' referred to a matter unrelated to the animal.
From these synonyms, the name 'monjon' was proposed and accepted to replace the earlier vernacular.
Description
The smallest species of the genus, the length of their head and body combined is 300 to 350 millimetres and they weigh a relatively light 950 to 1400 grams. The hindfoot is 80 to 92 mm.
The tail is 265 to 390 mm, a tawny colour with back flecking, and distinguished by dark brown tufted hair that begins two thirds along its length.
The ears are 30 to 33 mm from base to tip, very short for the genus, the eyes are large and black.
The upper-side of the
pelage
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...
is an olive-buff colour, deep in tone and marbled in appearance.
The fore part of the head is a deeper reddish brown, becoming paler at the cheek, a similar colour is found across the upper limb.
The ventral side, up to the chin, is pale to whitish and may have a yellowish tone at the belly.
[
The behaviour of ''P. burbidgei'' is shy. They are mostly active during the night and able to relocate with quick and adept movements.]
Distribution and habitat
The distribution range is restricted to high rainfall locations, with 1,200 to 1,400 mm of precipitation annually, at the coast and islands of the Kimberley region. The population occurs commonly at the few known locations, including the islands Bigge, Boongaree and Katers, where the first specimens were obtained in the 1970s. They are associated with habitat occurring on Wunaamin Miliwundi sandstone formations; the vegetation is open woodland of eucalypt
Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia:
''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
s and ''Owenia vernicosa
''Owenia vernicosa'', the emu apple, is a species of tree found in the north of Australia. The bark is an orange-grey colour that flakes away from the trunk. Deep red fruit appear after the flowering period, when the white, cream and green inflo ...
''.
The species is present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary
Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area covering about in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is situated about east of Derby, Western Australia, Derby and north west of ...
in the Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
region of WA.
Ecology
The species retires to caves or other cavities amongst the sandstone. The diet is primarily composed of grasses and ferns.
The breeding period is assumed to be year-round, with most births occurring during the northern wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
.
''Petrogale burbidgei'' is listed as near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...
, partly because of the small size of its known range.
References
External links
Image of the type specimen's skull
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209172
Macropods
Mammals of Western Australia
Marsupials of Australia
Mammals described in 1978
Taxa named by Darrell Kitchener