Doria's tree-kangaroo (''Dendrolagus dorianus'') is a long-tailed, furry, bear-like mammal found only in tropical mountain forests on the island of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

(in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

). It is one of the largest tree-kangaroos (genus '' Dendrolagus''), living alone in trees and active at night to feed on leaves or fruit. It belongs to the macropod family (

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 ...

) with kangaroos, and carries its young in a pouch like other marsupials. Threats include hunting and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Distribution

This

marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...

is found in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s of southeastern

island, at elevations between . The species was named in 1883 by

Edward Pierson Ramsay Edward Pierson Ramsay (3 December 1842 – 16 December 1916) was an Australian zoologist who specialised in ornithology. Early life Ramsay was born in Dobroyd Estate, Long Cove, Sydney, and educated at St Mark's Collegiate School, The King's S ...

in honour of Italian zoologist Giacomo Doria.

Description

Doria's tree-kangaroo is one of the largest tree-kangaroo species, and, on average, weighs between , its length is , with a long tail. It has long dense brown

fur 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 ...

with black ears and a pale brown or cream nonprehensile tail. It has large and powerful claws and a stocky build that gives it a bear-like appearance. It is mostly solitary and nocturnal. Its diet consists of various leaves, buds, flowers and fruits. The gestation period is about 30 days, after which, the single young remains in the mother's pouch for up to 10 months. Baby tree kangaroo on the chiefs wifes shoulder -Papua New Guinea-17Oct2008

Baby tree kangaroo on the chiefs wifes shoulder -Papua New Guinea-17Oct2008

;Conservation Doria's tree-kangaroo is an

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

. Its forest habitat is threatened by logging and forest clearance. Being large sized, it is also hunted for its meat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q183489 Macropods Marsupials of New Guinea Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Mammals of Papua New Guinea Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Mammals described in 1883 Taxa named by Edward Pierson Ramsay