The small dorcopsis or lesser forest wallaby (''Dorcopsulus vanheurni'') 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 found in the mountainous interior of
West Papua and
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 ...
. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is less common than it used to be and 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 ...
has assessed it as being "
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 ...
".
Names
It is known as sgaw in the
Kalam language
Kalam is a Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. It is closely related to Kobon, and shares many of the features of that language. Kalam is spoken in Middle Ramu District of Madang Province and in Mount Hagen District of Western Highlands Provinc ...
of
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 ...
.
[Pawley, Andrew and Ralph Bulmer. 2011. ''A Dictionary of Kalam with Ethnographic Notes''. Canberra. Pacific Linguistics.]
Distribution and habitat
The small dorcopsis is endemic to the island of New Guinea, being present in hill and upland habitats in the central mountain chain, at altitudes between . It used to occur in the
Schrader Range
Schrader Range is a mountain range in central Papua New Guinea. It is a part of the Bismarck Range
The Bismarck Range is a mountain range in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. The range is named after the German Chancellor, Ot ...
, the
Hunstein Range and the
Torricelli Mountains
The Torricelli Mountains are a mountain range in Sandaun Province, north-western Papua New Guinea. The highest peak in the range is Mount Sulen at 1650 meters. The Bewani Mountains are located to the west, and the Prince Alexander Mountains are ...
but no longer does, and it may no longer be present in the
Adelbert Range
Adelbert Range is a mountain range in Madang Province, north-central Papua New Guinea. The highest point of the mountains is at .
The Northern Adelbert languages and Southern Adelbert languages are spoken in the region.
Fauna and flora
As with ...
. Its natural habitat is both primary and secondary forests, and forest glades, and it is often found near streams. Each animal has a home range of one to one and a half hectares.
Use as food
The small dorcopsis is one of a number of species of animal used by the Etolo people as food. It is usually caught in traps or taken after being brought down by hunting dogs. The Etolo people cultivate gardens and at the time of preparing and growing the crops resort to trapping as they are too busy to go hunting. At the end of the growing season, from December onwards, they go hunting and catch other animals with few small dorcopsis being taken.
Status
The small dorcopsis is assessed 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 "
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 ...
", and even approaching the "
vulnerable" category. This is on the basis that it was once a common species but has become much less common, especially near human settlements, because it is hunted for food by the indigenous people and is
preyed on by the
New Guinea singing dog
The New Guinea singing dog or New Guinea Highland dog is an ancient ( basal) lineage of dog found in the New Guinea Highlands, on the island of New Guinea. Once considered to be a separate species in its own right, under the name ''Canis hallst ...
s which roam in the interior of the island.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209624
Macropods
Mammals of Papua New Guinea
Mammals of Western New Guinea
Mammals described in 1922
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Marsupials of New Guinea