Bush kangaroos
| Bush kangaroos | ||||||||||||
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A hagen bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsis hageni ) in the Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette |
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| Dorcopsini | ||||||||||||
| Prideaux & Warburton , 2010 | ||||||||||||
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The bush kangaroos (Dorcopsini) belong to the kangaroo family . The six species, which are divided into two genera ( Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus ), live in New Guinea .
General
Bush kangaroos reach a head body length of 35 to 80 cm and a weight of 2 to 7 kg. The nose is broad and hairless, the ears are round. The front feet are longer than most kangaroo species, and their body is not very well suited for hopping locomotion. In terms of evolutionary history, bush kangaroos occupy an intermediate position between the ground-living, hopping kangaroos and the tree-dwelling tree kangaroos .
These animals are rainforest dwellers. They are predominantly nocturnal, in the dense bushes they can occasionally be found during the day. The diet of the bush kangaroos consists of grasses, roots, leaves and fruits. Little is known about their reproduction. In most respects it should be the same as that of the other kangaroos .
Bush kangaroos suffer from hunting and the destruction of their habitat.
Bush kangaroos are no longer kept in Germany. Former owners are Berlin, Bremerhaven, Darmstadt, Gelsenkirchen, Heidelberg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Leer and Hanover.
Systematics
The two genera Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus are closely related and form a generic group, sometimes the second is also classified in the former. The differences are that the two species of the genus Dorcopsulus are smaller and more densely hairy and a larger part of the tail is hairless. According to phylogenetic data (comparison of homologous DNA sequences) the two genera are sister groups ; this result has been confirmed in all analyzes to date, both of nuclear and mitochondrial sequences.
There are six types:
- The Goodenough or Black Bush Kangaroo ( Dorcopsis atrata ) only lives on Goodenough Island south of New Guinea. Because of its small distribution area, it is considered critically endangered.
- The white-stripe bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsis hageni ) is native to northern New Guinea.
- The gray bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsis luctuosa ) is native to southeastern New Guinea.
- The brown bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsis muelleri ) lives in western New Guinea and offshore islands.
- The Papuan bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsulus macleayi ) is common in Southeast New Guinea.
- The little bush kangaroo ( Dorcopsulus vanheurni ) lives in the mountainous regions in the central part of New Guinea.
supporting documents
- ↑ [1] partly 10.6.
- ↑ Robert W. Meredith, Michael Westerman, Mark S. Springer: A phylogeny and timescale for the living genera of kangaroos and kin (Macropodiformes: Marsupialia) based on nuclear DNA sequences. Australian Journal of Zoology, 56, pp. 395-410, 2008 doi : 10.1071 / ZO08044
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899