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Information about Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo

Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo[1]

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Infraclass:Marsupialia
Order:Diprotodontia
Family:Macropodidae
Genus:Dendrolagus
Species:D. goodfellowi
Binomial name
Dendrolagus goodfellowi
Thomas, 1908
Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi), also called the Ornate Tree Kangaroo, belongs to the family Macropodidae, which includes kangaroos, wallabies and their relatives,[3] and the genus Dendrolagus, with eleven other species.[1] The species is native to the rainforests of New Guinea, and the border of central Irian Jaya in Indonesia.[4] Under the IUCN classification, the species is listed as Endangered,[2] which is a result of overhunting and human encroachment on their habitat.[5]

Description

Like other tree-kangaroos, Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo is quite different in appearance from terrestrial kangaroos. Unlike its land dwelling cousins, its legs are not disproportionately large compared to its forelimbs which are strong and end in hooked claws for grasping tree limbs, and it has a long tail for balance. All of these features help it with a predominantly arboreal existence. Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo has short, woolly fur,[6] usually chestnut to red-brown in color, a gray-brown face, yellow-colored cheeks and feet; a pale belly,[6] a long, golden brown tail, and two golden stripes on its backside.[6] It weighs approximately 7 kg (about 15 lb).[4]

Behaviour

Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo is slow and clumsy on the ground, moving at about walking pace and hopping awkwardly, leaning its body far forward to balance the heavy tail. However, in trees it is bold and agile. It climbs by wrapping its forelimbs around the trunk of a tree and hopping with the powerful hind legs, allowing the forelimbs to slide. It has extraordinary jumping ability and has been known to jump to the ground from heights of 30 feet without ill effect.[6]

Diet

Enlarge picture
Dendrolagus goodfellowi, eating.
Although it feeds mainly on the leaves of the Silkwood tree[9] (Flindersia pimenteliana), other morsels are accepted when available, including various fruits, cereals, flowers and grasses.[6] It has a large stomach that functions as a fermentation vat, similar to the stomachs of cows and other ruminant herbivores, where bacteria break down fibrous leaves and grasses.[11]

See also

References

Enlarge picture
Dendrolagus goodfellowi.
1. ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 59-60. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.2005&rft.edition=3rd%20edition&rft.pub=Johns%20Hopkins%20University%20Press&rft.pages=59-60&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnmnhgoph.si.edu%2Fmsw%2F"> 
2. ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Dendrolagus goodfellowi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
3. ^ Myers, P. (2001). Macropodidae. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.
4. ^ Animal Info (1999-2005). Animal Info - Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
5. ^ Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (2006). Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo - captive breeding program. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
6. ^ Melbourne Zoo (2006). Animal Fact Sheet: Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
7. ^ Animalinfo
8. ^ World Wildlife Fund (2006). Tree Kangaroos. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
9. ^ "Goodfellow's tree kangaroo". Funk & Wagnalls Wildlife Encyclopedia 20. (1974). New York, N.Y.: Funk and Wagnalls. pg 2397. 
10. ^ Discovery Communications Inc. (2006). Goodfellow's tree kangaroo. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
11. ^ Johnson, S. (1999). Dendrolagus goodfellowi. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved on 2006-08-03.
conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Marsupialia
Illiger, 1811

Orders
  • Didelphimorphia
  • Paucituberculata
  • Microbiotheria
  • Dasyuromorphia
  • Peramelemorphia
  • Notoryctemorphia
  • Diprotodontia
  • Sparassodonta (extinct)
  • Yalkaparidontia (extinct)
Marsupials
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Diprotodontia
Owen, 1866

Suborders

Vombatiformes
Phalangeriformes
Macropodiformes

Diprotodontia is a large order of about 120 marsupial mammals including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others.
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Dendrolagus
Müller, 1840

Type species
Dendrolagus ursinus
Müller, 1840

Species

About 12; see text.

Tree-kangaroos are macropods adapted for life in trees.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (February 21, 1858 – June 16, 1929) was a British zoologist.

Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and sub-species for the first time.
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Rainforests, or rain forests, are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750 mm and 2000 mm (68 inches to 78 inches).
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New Guinea<nowiki />

Political division of New Guinea

Geography
<nowiki/>
Location Island north of Australian continent
Coordinates
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Western New Guinea
West Papua
Region

Country | Indonesia

Cities | Jayapura,Manokwari,Sorong
Provinces|
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Motto
"Bhinneka Tunggal Ika"   (Old Javanese)
"Unity in Diversity"
National ideology: Pancasila[1]
Anthem
Indonesia Raya
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endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in number, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters.
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Ruminantia

Families

Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Cervidae
Giraffidae
Moschidae
Tragulidae

A ruminant is any animal that digests its food in two steps, first by eating the raw material and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as cud,
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Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism known as an herbivore, consumes principally autotrophs[1] such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria.
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fauna of New Guinea comprises a large number of species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates and amphibians.

As the world’s largest and highest tropical island, New Guinea occupies less than 0.
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fauna of Australia consists of a huge variety of unique animals; some 83% of mammals, 89% of reptiles, 90% of fish and insects and 93% of amphibians that inhabit the continent are endemic to Australia.
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Colin Groves is a Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.

Born in England, he completed a BSc (London) in 1963, and a PhD (London) in 1966.
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November 16 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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