Dendrolagus goodfellowi buergersi, Matschie, 1912

Eldridge, Mark D. B., Potter, Sally, Pratt, Renae, Johnson, Rebecca N., Flannery, Tim F. & Helgen, Kristofer M., 2024, Molecular systematics of the Dendrolagus goodfellowi species group (Marsupialia: Macropodidae), Records of the Australian Museum 76 (2), pp. 105-129 : 118-119

Dendrolagus goodfellowi buergersi

Matschie, 1912

Dendrolagus goodfellowi shawmayeri Rothschild and Dollman, 1936

Common names. Ornate Tree-kangaroo, Timboyok, Buergers’ tree-kangaroo

Holotype. MZM 22155, adult male, skin and skull. Hunstein Range , upper August River, Papua New Guinea.

Other material examined. AM M.6509, AM M.7221, AM M.7416, AM M.7417, AM M.7497, AM M.7535, AM M.7536, AM M.7574, AM M.7575, AM M.7580, AM M.7586, AM M.7598, AM M.7620, AM M.9145, AM M.17222, AM M.17213, AM M.19579, AM M.23548, AM M.23632, AM M.24631, AM M.29690, AM M.46657, AMNH 190992, AMNH 190993, AMNH 192145, AMNH 192147, BBM-NG 21091, BBM-NG 24500, BBM-NG 51218, BMNH 1939.2930, BMNH 50.1429, BMNH 50.1430, BMNH 50.1814, MVZ 129784, MVZ 129785, PNGM 24127, PNGM 24129, PNGM 24130, PNGM 24496, PNGM 24670, PNGM 24752, PNGM 24754, PNGM 24755, UPNG 1950, UPNG 1956, UPNG 1959, UPNG 2393, UPNG 3186, UPNG 3215, UPNG 3268, USNM 586105–586107.

Many of the AM specimens are ex-Taronga Zoo animals, mostly listed as coming from Mt Hagen, but as the major commercial centre in the Central Highlands this would most likely have been the locality from which they were exported to Australia not necessarily the locality at which they were captured ( Groves, 1982).

Distribution. Dendrolagus goodfellowi buergersi occurs in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea, from the Bubu River and the vicinity of Wau in Morobe Province in the east, west to Mt Bubiari near the West Papuan border, in mid-montane forest from 700 to 2865 m elevation ( Groves, 1982; Flannery et al., 1996; the lowest record we note is UPNG 3215, a skull from Hagahai, 700 m, Madang Province). Many of the well-provenanced museum specimens are from Morobe Province, including specimens from the Bubu/ Waria River (BMNH), Mt. Missim (BBM-NG), Bulldog Track (AMNH), and Wau (BBM-NG). Further to the west it is recorded from the Kratke Range (BMNH), and areas along the northern margin of the central highlands including Mt. Wilhelm (AMNH), Kerowagi (BBM-NG), and Mt. Jaka (AM; Groves, 1982). The holotype of D. g. buergersi is from the Hunstein Range, which lies to the north of, and is completely isolated from, the Central Cordillera, ~ 125 km northwest of the area surveyed by Flannery and Seri (1990). Further east, D. g. buergersi was reported present on the Western Schrader Range (the northern margin of the Central Cordillera) including the Jimi and Simbai Valleys, by Majnep and Bulmer (2007). It was however, absent from the Kaironk Valley (which bounds the Schrader Range to the south) “presumably due to the density of human occupation” ( Majnep & Bulmer, 2007).

At its westernmost distributional limit, in Sandaun Province, D. g. buergersi is restricted to the outlying ranges north of the Central Cordillera, with the Sepik River forming a barrier ( Flannery & Seri, 1990). On the Thurnwald Range (where D. dorianus is absent) D. g. buergersi extends to above 2,000 m (and possibly to the summit at 2,600 m). Its extreme western limit is Mt Bubiari, an isolated limestone

Since sexual dimorphism is limited in this group ( Flannery et al., 1996), data from both sexes has been combined. For measurements separated massif rising from the Sepik lowlands to around 1,000 m ( Flannery & Seri, 1990).

Dendrolagus g. buergersi is also present in the valley of the southwards flowing Om River (which lies north of Telefomin and flows into the Strickland River). The Hak-Om divide is one of the lowest points on the Central Cordillera, being a steep ridge at 1,560 m ( Flannery & Seri, 1990). During a visit to the Ok Tedi mine in 2001 one of us (TF) saw two captive individuals which were reportedly captured on the southern slopes of the Central Cordillera in the vicinity of Tabubil-Kiunga, Western Province, which may be its western limit on the south side of the Cordillera. From here D. g. buergersi occurs eastward across the southern margins of the Central Cordillera, including in Hela Province at Mt. Sisa (UPNG) and in the Wanakipa area of Hewa (USNM; Helgen et al. 2011; see also Helgen [2007b], who found it was familiar to hunters at elevations below Porgera in Enga Province), in Southern Highlands Province at Arakubi near Lake Kutubu ( Woxvold & Legra, 2019; Woxvold et al., 2021), and in Chimbu Province below 1,500 m on Mt Karimui, (UPNG; Hide et al., 1984).

Description. Dendrolagus g. buergersi can be distinguished from other members of the Goodfellow’s group by its dark brown body and head, prominent bright yellow paired neck and rump stripes, strongly contrasting pale limbs and patterned tail ( Fig. 6 ). Chestnut to dark brown dorsally, including the upper limbs, the ventral surface is paler and more sparsely furred. A dark brown mid-dorsal stripe of variable prominence and thickness runs from the top of the head to the base of tail. A single hair whorl occurs on the dorsal midline on mid-lower back. Prominent paired yellow to gold stripes occur on the rump and fainter paired stripes are present on the neck and back of head. The lower limbs are yellow to gold, contrasting strongly with upper limbs/ body, although the digits are often dark. The head is of similar colour to the body or paler, especially on face and cheeks. The dark brown tail is longer than the head/body ( Table 4), well covered with short hair, often paler ventrally and proximally, as well as mottled with highly variable yellow to gold rings and blotches along its length ( Eldridge & Coulson, 2015).

Remarks. As a species D. goodfellowi is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List (Leary et al., 2016a).

Figures

Figure 6. Comparison of pelage variation across taxa in the Goodfellow’s group. Left to right: D. g. buergersi (AM M.17213), D. g. goodfellowi (AM M D. matschiei (AM M.6062), and D. spadix (AM M.17212).