Kingdom Animalia Infraclass Marsupialia Family Macropodidae Scientific name Dendrolagus pulcherrimus Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Diprotodontia Genus Dendrolagus Higher classification Tree-kangaroo | |
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Similar Tree‑kangaroo, Dingiso, Ursine tree‑kangaroo, Seri's tree‑kangaroo, Grizzled tree‑kangaroo | ||
The Golden-mantled tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) is a species of tree-kangaroo endemic to the Northern New Guinea montane rain forests ecoregion of northern New Guinea island.
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Distribution
It is native in two locations on the island: the Torricelli Mountains of northwestern Papua New Guinea; and the Foja Mountains of northeastern Papua Province, in Western New Guinea of Indonesia.
It has been recorded at elevations between 680–1,700 metres (2,230–5,580 ft). There are fossil records from Vogelkop Peninsula in West Papua and other places.
Description
This marsupial has chestnut brown short coat with a pale belly, and yellowish neck, cheeks and feet. A double golden stripe runs down its back. The tail is long and has pale rings.
Its appearance is similar to the closely related Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo. It differs from the latter by having a pinkish or lighter color face, golden shoulders, white ears and smaller size. Some authorities consider the golden-mantled tree-kangaroo as a subspecies of Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo.
Conservation
The golden-mantled tree-kangaroo is considered as one of the most endangered of all tree-kangaroos. It is extirpated from most of its original range. It is an IUCN Red List Critically endangered species since 2015. The population in the Torricelli Range is now effectively protected by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance
Taxonomy
The Foja Mountains population in Papua Province was described in 1993 by Australian naturalist Professor Tim Flannery. The Torricelli Mountains population in Sandaun Province was discovered by Ruby McCullers in 2005, and described by Flannery in 2006.