The whiptail wallaby (''Notamacropus parryi''), also known as the pretty-faced wallaby, is a 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 ...

found in eastern Australia. It is locally common from

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

to near Grafton in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Description

It is distinguished by its paler colouring and white stripe under its face. Their faces have a chocolate-brown fur covering their muzzle. They are black and white on its chest and the rest is grey to brown fur. Males weigh from and stand at a height from . Females weigh from and stand at a height from .

Lifestyle

The whiptail wallaby lives in

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s particularly on hills or slopes. It is primarily a

grazer Grazer may refer to: *grazer, an animal that grazes *Grazer, a native or inhabitant of Graz *GRAZER, the shoegaze band GRAZER Astronomy * Earth Grazer, Earth-grazing fireball that enters the Earth's atmosphere and leaves again * Mercury grazer, ...

. In grasslands, the whiptail wallaby primarily eats

kangaroo grass } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and re ...

. It also eats

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. Th ...

s in nearby creeks. It is primarily a diurnal species. It is active in the morning and late in the afternoon but continues into “to an unknown extent during the night”.

Social behavior

The whiptail wallaby is a sociable species, sometimes coming together in mobs of up to 50. They live in a home range of up to . The mob usually gathers in the afternoon during feeding. Some home ranges may overlap with others and the members of the mob take turns resting and guarding. The mobs contain all ages and sexes throughout the year, but seldom if ever are all members of a mob together at one time. Mobs often split into continually changing subgroups of fewer than 10 animals. Whiptail wallaby mobs have a linear hierarchy that is determined by ritualized “pawing”, which is non-violent. They may also pull grass. Whiptail wallabies will cough to show submission. These bouts function only to determine access to oestrous females.

Reproduction

The most dominant males mate with the females. A male will wander through a gathering of females, sniffing their cloacae and tasting their urine. When a male finds a female close to oestrus, he stays with her. However, before she enters oestrus, he may be replaced by a more dominant male. The

oestrus cycle The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous p ...

for a whiptail wallaby lasts for only 42 days. Joeys stay in their mothers' pouches for the first nine months. When they leave, they will still stay with them for up to 18 months. Whiptail joeys follow their mothers continuously and do not hide in vegetation. Subadult male whiptail wallabies sometimes leave their natal groups.

Status

The whiptail wallaby is present in many protected areas. There appear to be no major threats to this species, although land clearing has probably resulted in the loss of suitable habitat and certainly has been responsible for range contraction at the southern end of its range.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q109262312, from2=Q753763 Macropods Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Queensland Marsupials of Australia Mammals described in 1835 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN