The monjon (''Petrogale burbidgei'') is the smallest

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of rock-wallaby ('' Petrogale'') in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Macropodidae Macropodidae is a Family (biology), family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, Wallaby, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, quokkas, and several other groups. These genera are allied to the suborder Macropodiformes, containing ...

, found in northwestern Australia. They are restricted to a small area of the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, and on nearby

islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

within the Bonaparte Archipelago. Common names also include Burbidge's rock-wallaby and Burbidge's rock-weasel.Strahan, Ronald, ''Mammals of Australia'' (1995) p. 368

Taxonomy

The monjon is a small species of macropod (terrestrial kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, etc) placed in the genus ''Petrogale'' (the rock-wallabies). The first published description of the species was in 1978, based on specimens collected and reviewed by D. J. Kitchener and G. Sanson. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

is a female that weighed , shot by Kitchener in a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

crevice on an evening in November 1976 at the Mitchell Plateau, near to a site named Crystal Creek. That animal was carrying a hairless joey (baby) in its pouch at the time that it was killed, which weighed around . Other specimens were obtained at the Mitchell Plateau, as well as from Boongaree, Katers and Bigge Islands (of the Bonaparte Archipelago) and within Prince Regent National Park. The specific epithet was named for Andrew A. Burbidge, who was credited with prompting surveys of mammals of the Kimberley region. Burbidge, later, wrote a paper on the selection of the vernacular for the species. One author of the first description, Kitchener, published the suggested vernacular as ''warabi'', a term he was informed was the animal's name in the Wunumbal language, and this was subsequently adopted by the Australian Mammal Society and used by the editor Ronald Strahan for the mammalian volume of the '' National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife'' (1983). In later consultations with the local people, several synonyms were identified for Burbidge; while those familiar with the animals could readily identify the separate taxa, these names refer to both '' Petrogale concinna'' and to this species. This re-examination was instigated by the learnt information that ''warabi'' referred to a matter unrelated to the animal. From these synonyms, the name 'monjon' was proposed and accepted to replace the earlier vernacular.

Description

The smallest species of the genus, the length of their head and body combined is and they weigh a relatively light . The hindfoot is . The tail is , a tawny colour with back flecking, and distinguished by dark brown tufted hair that begins two thirds along its length. The ears are from base to tip, very short for the genus; the eyes are large and black. The upper side of the

pelage A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

is an olive-buff colour, deep in tone and marbled in appearance. The fore part of the head is a deeper reddish brown, becoming paler at the cheek, a similar colour is found across the upper limb. The ventral side, up to the chin, is pale to whitish and may have a yellowish tone at the belly. The behaviour of ''P. burbidgei'' is shy. They are mostly active during the night and able to relocate with quick and adept movements.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution range is restricted to high rainfall locations, with of precipitation annually, at the coast and islands of the Kimberley region. The population occurs commonly at the few known locations, including the islands Bigge, Boongaree and Katers, where the first specimens were obtained in the 1970s. They are associated with habitat occurring on Wunaamin Miliwundi sandstone formations; the vegetation is open woodland of

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

s and '' Owenia vernicosa''. The species is present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the

region of Western Australia.

Ecology

The species retires to caves or other cavities amongst the sandstone. The diet is primarily composed of grasses and ferns. The breeding period is assumed to be year-round, with most births occurring during the northern

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

. ''Petrogale burbidgei'' is listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

, partly because of the small size of its known range.

References

External links

Image of the type specimen's skull
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209172 Macropods Mammals of Western Australia Marsupials of Australia Mammals described in 1978 Taxa named by Darrell Kitchener