Brown bush kangaroo
| Brown bush kangaroo | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dorcopsis muelleri | ||||||||||||
| ( Lesson , 1827) |
The brown bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsis muelleri ) is a species of kangaroo belonging to the group of bush kangaroos . It lives with four to five subspecies in the western lowlands of New Guinea and on offshore islands. The nominate form , Dorcopsis muelleri muelleri, occurs on the Vogelkop Peninsula, D. muelleri lorentzii in the western lowlands, D. muelleri mysoliae on the island of Misool and D. muelleri yapeni on Yapen . The population on Salawati could be a fifth subspecies.
features
The brown bush kangaroo shows a clear sexual dimorphism in terms of size. Males reach a head body length of 71 to 77 cm and have a 41 to 53.5 cm long tail. The females measured so far had a head body length of 54 to 65 cm, a 32 to 46.5 cm long tail and reached a weight of 5 to 6.8 kg. There is no information about the weight of the males. The fur of the animals is brown on the back and light on the belly. The color transition is abrupt. The limbs are only thinly haired and lighter than the body. The tail is well haired and has a hairless tip that is sometimes lighter in color.
D. muelleri muelleri has a more reddish-brown back color and is cream-colored on the belly. D. muelleri lorentzii has a chocolate brown back and a light gray to cream colored belly. The subspecies that live on islands are smaller than those found on the mainland. D. muelleri mysoliae is dull brown on the back and gray to whitish on the belly. The color of the limbs clearly contrasts with that of the body. D. muelleri yapeni is similar to D. muelleri mysoliae but is more brownish. The tail, ears and hind feet are shorter.
Habitat and way of life
The brown bush kangaroo lives in primary and secondary lowland rainforests in gallery forests and in human-influenced biotopes near the forest, such as overgrown gardens up to heights of 400 meters. Little is known about the way of life. It is crepuscular and becomes nocturnal when it is heavily hunted. They spend the heat of the day in a crouching position with their tail tucked forward through their legs. The gray bush kangaroo feeds on leaves, fruits and flowers. Specimens kept in captivity bit off their food with their incisors, then took them in their paws and used it to feed the food sideways into their mouths to chew them with their large premolars . Females have a single cub per year that remains in the pouch for a period of 6 months. Females become sexually mature at 15 months of age, males a little later.
Danger
The brown bush kangaroo is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern. It has a large distribution area, is rich in individuals, and gets along well with human settlements in the vicinity.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Mark Eldridge & Graeme Coulson: Family Macropodidae (Kangaroos and Wallabies). Page 694 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6
- ↑ Dorcopsis muelleri in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Leary, T., Singadan, R., Menzies, J., Helgen, K., Allison, A., James, R., Flannery, T. , Aplin, K., Dickman, C. & Salas, L., 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
