Dendrolagus spadix, Troughton & Le Souef, 1936

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Macropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 630-735 : 706

25.

Lowland Tree Kangaroo

Dendrolagus spadix

French: Dendrolague des plaines / German: Tiefland-Baumkanguru / Spanish: Canguro arboricola de llanura

Other common names: Lowland Tree-kangaroo, Lowlands Tree Kangaroo

Taxonomy. Dendrolagus spadix Troughton & Le Souef, 1936 ,

“ between the Upper Awarra and Strickland Rivers, Western Division of Papua ,” (= Western Province, Papua New Guinea).

Previously considered a subspecies of D. matschiei , but reinstated as a full species in 1990. Monotypic.

Distribution. Hinterland of Gulf of Papua, including parts of the hill-forest zone of the Purari, Kikori, and Strickland river catchments, in SC Papua New Guinea.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 50-645 cm, tail 61.6-72.2 cm; weight 7.9-1 kg. Medium-sized, mostly unornamented, dark brown tree kangaroo with short, sparse fur. Single hair whorl on dorsal midline on mid-lower back. Dark chestnut-brown dorsally, paler ventrally and on limbs and face; ventral surface sparsely furred. Faint dark middorsal stripe from head to rump and very faint paired pale stripes on rump in some specimens. Tail longer than head-body, and dark brown with occasional yellowish markings, these markings more frequent ventrally.

Habitat. Primary lowland tropical rainforest (more specifically, small-crowned and large-crowned hill forests) on limestone and other sedimentary geologies and uplifted alluvial plains, at up to 800 m elevation. Rare or absent in forests of low productivity.

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species;likely to be an arboreal folivore.

Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species; likely to produce a single young and to breed throughout year.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. This species is poorly known, but it appears widely but patchily distributed across a relatively large area with a very low human population density. It is subject to traditional hunting by local people and is not often found close to human settlements. Nevertheless, as most ofits total range either is currently suffering or is likely soon to experience impacts from logging, oil and gas extraction, and conversion to oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis , Arecaceae ) plantation, the Lowland Tree Kangaroo is likely to become increasingly threatened in the near future. Additional research on distribution, abundance, general ecology, and impact of threats is required.

Bibliography. Aplin (2014), Flannery (1990a, 1995a), Flannery et al. (1996), Groves (1982), Leary, Seri, Wright, Hamilton, Helgen, Singadan, Menzies, Allison, James, Dickman, Aplin, Salas et al. (2008b).

Figures

10. Rufous-bellied Pademelon (Thylogale billardieru), 11. Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis), 12. Red-legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica), 13. New Guinea Pademelon (Thylogale browni), 14. Dusky Pademelon (Thylogale brunii), 15. Calaby’s Pademelon (Thylogale calabyi), 16. Bennett's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus), 17. Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi), 18. Grizzled Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus), 19. Vogelkop Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus ursinus), 20. Dingiso (Dendrolagus mbaiso), 21. Doria’s. 9 Tree Kangaroo Dendrolagus (- dorianus), 22. Scott’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus scottae), 23. Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi), 24. Huon Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschie), 25. Lowland Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus spadix)

Distribution. Hinterland of Gulf of Papua, including parts of the hill-forest zone of the Purari, Kikori, and Strickland river catchments, in SC Papua New Guinea.