Bennett's tree-kangaroo (''Dendrolagus bennettianus'') is a large

tree-kangaroo Tree-kangaroos are marsupials of the genus ''Dendrolagus'', adapted for arboreal locomotion. They inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and far northeastern Queensland, Australia along with some of the islands in the region. All tree- ...

. Males can weigh from 11.5 kg up to almost 14 kg (25 to 31 lbs), while the females range between about . They are very agile and are able to leap down to another branch and have been known to drop as far as to the ground without injury.

Description

Like other tree-kangaroos it has longer forelimbs and shorter hindlimbs than terrestrial kangaroos and a long bushy tail. It is mostly dark brown above and lighter fawn on chin, throat and lower abdomen. The forehead and muzzle are greyish. The feet and hands are black. The tail has a black patch at the base and a light patch on the upper part. The ears are short and rounded.

Habitat

This very elusive (or "cryptic") tree-kangaroo is found in both mountain and lowland tropical rain forests south of Cooktown,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to just north of the Daintree River; an area of only about . It is also occasionally found in

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

woodlands. It lives almost completely on the leaves of a wide range of rainforest trees, notably '' Heptapleurum actinophyllum'' (the umbrella tree), vines, ferns and various wild fruits.Martin (2005).

Diet

The Bennett's tree-kangaroo is a

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

. It mostly eats leaves off 33 different plant species. Now that it is rarely hunted by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, its main predators are pythons and the

dingo The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

. It is thought to be the closest tree-kangaroo to the ancestral form.

Conservation status

Although the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

still rates the status of Bennett's tree-kangaroo as "near threatened", its numbers seem to be increasing and its range expanding. Sightings have become far more common in recent years. In 2006 a dead specimen was found along Amos Bay Road, just south of Cooktown. The increases in numbers and range are likely because most of its range is now protected under

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

legislation, and it is no longer hunted by Indigenous Australians. Both Roger Martin and Lewis Roberts, two of the world's top experts on this species, agree that it should now be classified as "secure".

Footnotes

References

* Cronin, Leonard (2000). ''Australian Mammals: Key Guide (Revised Edition)''. Envirobooks. Annandale, Sydney, Australia. . * Martin, Roger, et al. (1996). ''Tree Kangaroos: A Curious Natural History''. Reed Books, Port Melbourne, Vic., Australia. . * Martin, Roger (2005). ''Tree-kangaroos of Australia and New Guinea''. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Vic., Australia. .

External links

Contains information and a photo of Bennett's tree-kangaroo
{{Taxonbar, from=Q209132 Bennett's tree-kangaroo Marsupials of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Mammals of Queensland Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of Queensland Bennett's tree-kangaroo Taxa named by Charles Walter De Vis