The spectacled hare-wallaby (''Lagorchestes conspicillatus'') is a species of macropod found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

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 Australia, a small sub-population is found on Barrow Island, while the mainland type is widespread, though in decline, across northern regions of the country.

Description

A species of '' Lagorchestes'', hare-wallaby are small members of the 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 ...

. The spectacled hare-wallaby is found across northern Australia in tropical tussock or spinifex habitats. It can be found from

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 ...

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 ...

. In 1997, it was discovered in the savanna country of southwest

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 ...

, in the upper Bensbach River area. It is a solitary, nocturnal herbivore, and is considerably larger than its relatives. It is coloured grey-brown with golden tips and an orange circle around its eye, from which it gets its name. It builds its nests among the tough vegetation. When disturbed it hops off in a zigzag manner. The young are produced singly at any time of the year and become sexually mature at about a year old.

Naming and taxonomy

The species was first described by

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

, naming this hare-wallaby as ''Lagorchestes conspicillata'', and provided an illustration that was included in '' The Mammals of Australia'' (Volume II) as plate 59. A separate description, ''Lagorchestes leichardti'', was included in the same work as Pl. 58. This is now regarded as a subpopulation of the same species, which is sometimes described as a subspecies. Lumholtz refers to this animal as a kangaroo-rat, although that term is now the common name for species of a North American rodent genus.

Threat and status

The species was reviewed on the Red List (2008) as having the conservation status least concern. The subspecies ''L. conspicillatus conspicillatus'' is restricted to Barrow Island, Western Australia, but was once found throughout the

Montebello Islands The Montebello Islands, also rendered as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands, about 92 of which are named, lying north of Barrow Island (Western Australia), Barrow Island and off the Pilbara region of W ...

. Predation by

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 ther ...

and development on the island have led to a vulnerable status. ''L. conspicillatus leichardti'', the mainland subspecies, was once regarded as a near-threatened status. The population of the species is in decline, largely due to reduction of habitat through land clearing. Concern also exists regarding the disappearance from arid parts of its far northern range. Reintroduction to former habitats has been proposed, following the related Western Shield projects.

Fossil record

A spectacled hare-wallaby fossil was discovered in Queensland dating up to 11,000 years ago from the early

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

.The Paleobiology Database
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In Aboriginal language and culture

The Bininj people of western

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

call this animal wularla in the

Kunwinjku language Kunwinjku is a dialect of Bininj Kunwok, an Australian Aboriginal language. The Aboriginal people who speak Kunwinjku are the Bininj people, who live primarily in western Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Terri ...

References

External links

''Lagorchestes conspicillatus leichhardi'' (mainland subspecies, includes photo)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q639089 Macropods Mammals of Western Australia Mammals of the Northern Territory Mammals of Queensland Marsupials of Australia Mammals described in 1842 Marsupials of New Guinea Taxa named by John Gould