The allied rock-wallaby or Weasel rock-wallaby (''Petrogale assimilis'') is a species of rock-wallaby found in northeastern

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 ...

, Australia. It forms part of the ''P. lateralis/penicillata''

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

and is very similar to six other species of rock-wallaby found in this area; these include the Cape York rock-wallaby (''P. coenensis''), the unadorned rock-wallaby (''P. inornata''), the Herbert's rock-wallaby (''P. herberti''), the Godman's rock-wallaby (''P. godmani''), the

Mareeba rock-wallaby The Mareeba rock-wallaby (''Petrogale mareeba'') is a rare species of rock-wallaby found around Mareeba in northeastern Queensland, Australia. Taxonomy The Mareeba rock-wallaby is a member of a group of seven very closely related species with ...

(''P. mareeba'') and the Mount Claro rock-wallaby (''P. sharmani'').

Description

Few features distinguish the allied rock-wallaby from its close relatives but each species lives in a different part of Queensland and northern New South Wales; where their ranges overlap slightly, there is some hybridisation. They all have upper parts that range from brown to grey, and paler underparts. They usually have a dark muzzle and a dark patch around the armpits. On the face is a pale cheek stripe, and across the hips is another pale stripe.

Distribution and habitat

The allied rock-wallaby 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 else ...

to Queensland in Australia. Its range extends from

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

to the

Burdekin River The Burdekin River is a river located in North and Far North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain at Valley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of the Seaview Range, and flows into the Coral Sea a ...

, the Bowen River,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and

Hughenden Hughenden may refer to: *Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia *Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada *Hughenden Valley Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...

, and includes Magnetic and

Palm Islands The Palm Islands are three artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah, Deira Island and Palm Jebel Ali, on the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Palm Islands were conceived around the same time as The World, another artificial island project i ...

. It occurs at elevations of up to in rocky areas, both in woodland and in more lightly-treed areas, even when agricultural land is nearby. Typical habitat is mountainous areas with cliffs, ledges, caves and rock piles.

Behaviour

The diet comprises grasses and shoots of herbaceous plants, with up to thirty percent of the diet being browsed from bushes. They have a small home range during the wet season when food is readily available, but range much more widely during the dry season. While foraging, out-of-pouch young are often left hidden in rock crevices. The allied rock-wallaby is behaviourally monogamous, but not all the offspring are sired by the supposed father. The gestation period is about thirty days, the joey leaves the pouch at six to seven months and is fully weaned when nearly a year old. Young adults may disperse over distances of two kilometres or so, and longevity is about seven years.

Status

''P. assimilis'' has a wide distribution in Queensland and is common within that range. The population trend seems to be stable and no particular threats to this species are known. For these reasons, 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 nat ...

has assessed its conservation status 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 ...

". Some factors that affect rock wallabies are climate change, which may alter the flora of their habitat, introduced predators such as dogs and foxes, degradation, loss and fragmentation of habitat, competition from introduced grazing animals and changing practices for periodic burning.

References

External links