The yellow-footed rock-wallaby (''Petrogale xanthopus''), formerly known as the ring-tailed rock-wallaby, is a member of the macropod family (the

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in ...

family that includes the

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

, tree-kangaroos, and

wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

s).

Description

The yellow-footed rock-wallaby is grey to fawn-grey above and light-coloured below with a black mid-dorsal stripe from the crown of the head to the centre of the back. There is a distinct white cheek stripe, with ears ranging in colour from orange to grey-brown. The forearms and hind legs are bright yellow to rich orange to a light orange-brown. The tail is orange-brown irregularly ringed with dark brown and golden-brown, with the colour of the tip variable from dark brown to white. The head and body length is 480–650 mm (usually 600 mm), with tail length 570–700 mm (usually 690 mm), and weight 6–11 kg.

Distribution and habitat

This species of

rock-wallaby The rock-wallabies are the wallabies of the genus ''Petrogale''. Taxonomy The genus was established in 1837 by John Edward Gray in a revision of material at the British Museum of Natural History. Gray nominated his earlier description of ''Ka ...

is found in western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, eastern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

and isolated portions of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. It is not typically found near human habitation, instead preferring rough terrain and rock outcroppings.

Subspecies

There are two recognised subspecies. There are no observable differences between the two subspecies, but genetic analysis of DNA samples from the different populations found them to be genetically distinct. The genetic divergence between the subspecies is greater than that between some other rock-wallaby species, reinforcing the subspecies status. The two subspecies are:

''P. x. xanthopus''

''P. x. xanthopus'' is listed as vulnerable under the ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

'' by the Australian government. Colonies persist in South Australia, within the

Gawler Ranges The Gawler Ranges are a range of stoney hills in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The Eyre Highway skirts the south of the ranges. The Gawler Ranges National Park is in the ranges north of Kimba and Wudinna. The ranges are cover ...

, the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

and the Olary Ranges. The population is SA is estimated at around 2,000 to 6,500 animals, with great uncertainty and likely large fluctuations. Due to conservation efforts by sanctuaries in the Flinders RangesThe Arkaroola Policy regarding visiting the Sanctuary with a Dog
Sprigg, M., Arkaroola Sanctuary. Retrieved 17 July 2018. and pastoralists in the Olary Ranges, populations there have increased in recent years. In NSW, colonies have been found at three sites in the Gap Range and seven sites in the Coturaundee Range, with a population of between 170 and 215 animals. Threats include competition from introduced herbivores (in particular feral

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of th ...

and

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

), predation by

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and

feral cats A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

, isolation of populations, and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

through mineral exploration.

''P. x. celeris''

''P. x. celeris'' is listed as vulnerable under the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' by the Australian government. It has a restricted distribution in the rocky ranges of central-western Queensland. Threats include fox predation, competition with domestic and wild

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

(particularly goats and cattle), climate change, reduced access to water sources, habitat loss and fragmentation, and increase in bushfires. The population of ''P. x. celeris'' was estimated to be 5,000-10,000 individuals in 1993, but is now considered unknown.

Conservation

Previously the species has been killed in large numbers for its pelt, primarily through the period between the 1880s and 1920s. The yellow-footed rock-wallaby was originally known and described from specimens from South Australia. The species was subsequently discovered in New South Wales (and Queensland) where it was first recorded in 1964 in the Coturaundee Ranges, now part of

Mutawintji National Park The Mutawintji National Park, formerly the Mootwingee National Park, is a protected national park that is located in the Far West region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney and ab ...

. The two small mountain ranges in the far west of the state are still the only known places where the species survives in New South Wales. In 1968, the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary was established on the Arkaroola pastoral lease, with a specific goal of protecting the yellow footed rock wallaby. Conservation activities include extensive fox baiting, and the control of

and goats, as well as occasional hand-rearing of abandoned joeys. In 1979, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife purchased 100 square kilometres of this land, which then became Coturaundee Nature Reserve, for the conservation and protection of the yellow-footed rock-wallaby. Further funds were allocated to fox and goat eradication. Annual surveys of the area, which is now part of

, indicate that the population is now recovering, seemingly having grown progressively since 1995, with at least one large fluctuation due to rainfall changes noted. The recovery strategy that saved the yellow-footed rock-wallaby initially served as a model to preserve other rock-wallabies, including the

brush-tailed rock-wallaby The brush-tailed rock-wallaby or small-eared rock-wallaby (''Petrogale penicillata'') is a kind of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus '' Petrogale''. It inhabits rock piles and cliff lines along the Great Dividing Range from ab ...

, from extinction. From 1998, when the first

Indigenous Protected Area An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations ...

was set up adjacent to the southern boundary of the

Gammon Ranges National Park The Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park is a protected area in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, immediately south-west of and adjacent to the Arkaroola Protection Area. They encompass some of the most rugged and spectacular country ...

, near

Nepabunna Nepabunna, also spelt Nipapanha, is a small community in the northern Flinders Ranges in north-eastern South Australia, about north of Adelaide. It is located just west of the Gammon Ranges, and the traditional owners are the Adnyamathanha peopl ...

, the

Adnyamathanha The Adnyamathanha (Pronounced: ) are a contemporary Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia, formed as an aggregate of several distinct peoples. Strictly speaking the ethnonym Adnyamathanha was an alternativ ...

people have been helping to protect the rock wallaby at Nantawarrina IPA. The Adnyamathanha people call the animal ''andu''.

Gallery

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q209497 Macropods Mammals of South Australia Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Queensland Marsupials of Australia Mammals described in 1855 Taxa named by John Edward Gray