Topic
Dendrolagus inustus
About: Dendrolagus inustus is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3 publications have been published within this topic receiving 14 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: Dendrolagus scottae differs from all other tree-kangaroos in its uniform blackish colouration, narrow but long dentary, shallow face, and wide P/3 with a large posterobuccal cusp, while D. dorianus, the largest previously-known species, is almost bear-like in its proportions, with foreand hindlimbs subequal in length, a domed forehead and a very short tail.
Abstract: Dendrolagus scottae n.sp. inhabits mossy forest above 1,200 m on the North Coast Range, Papua New Guinea. Its total known habitat area is estimated at about 25-40 km2• The species is gravely endangered, and its plight is symptomatic of that of many large mammals in Melanesia. Dendrolagus scottae differs from all other tree-kangaroos in its uniform blackish colouration, narrow but long dentary, shallow face, and wide P/3 with a large posterobuccal cusp. The combination of large cheekteeth but small masticatory muscles suggest that D. scottae n.sp. has a different feeding strategy to other tree-kangaroos. Dendrolagus scottae n.sp. and D. dorianus possess a number of features which are unique among near relatives. These include the presence of a greatly reduced superior lachrymal foramen, large cheekteeth, uniformly dark dorsal and ventral colouration, and a very short tail. These derived features indicate that these two species are each other's closest relatives. FLANNERY, T.F. & L. SERI, 1990. Dendrolagus scottae n.sp. (Marsupialia: Macropodidae): a new treekangaroo from Papua New Guinea. Records of the Australian Museum 42(3): 237-245. The tree-kangaroos (genus Dendrolagus) are the only arboreal members of the marsupial family Macropodidae, which also includes the more familiar terrestrial kangaroos and wallabies. Tree-kangaroos are restricted to the rainforests of both north-eastern Australia (two species) and New Guinea (seven species). The two Australian species and the New Guinean Dendrolagus inustus form a plesiomorphic group (Groves, 1982; Flannery & Szalay, 1982). Dendrolagus inustus is the only species previously reported from the North Coast Range. A group of specialised, highly arboreally-adapted species inhabits the New Guinean Central Cordillera and some outlying ranges (Groves, 1982) (Fig. 1). Dendrolagus dorianus is the most apomorphic member of this group. It is largely restricted to high-altitude mossy forests along the Central Cordillera, but one subspecies inhabits the Wondiwoi Peninsula of Irian Jaya. Dendrolagus dorianus, the largest previously-known species, is almost bear-like in its proportions, with foreand hindlimbs subequal in length, a domed forehead and a very short tail. In addition to the living species, a very large extinct species (Dendrolagus noibano) is known from Pleistocene fossil remains from Chimbu Province Papua New Guinea (Flannery, Mountain & Aplin, 1983). It is dentally and 237
13 citations
TL;DR: 5 microsatellite markers for D. matschiei are developed, which are the first markers developed for Dendrolagus, and can be used to inform management decisions to conserve D. matriarchal kangaroo in captivity and the wild.
Abstract: Matschie's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) is an endangered arboreal macropodid endemic to the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea (PNG). We developed 5 microsatellite markers for D. matschiei, which are the first markers developed for Dendrolagus. We screened 17 additional markers that were developed for other marsupial taxa and identified 3 that were polymorphic in D. matschiei. We estimated allelic and genetic diversity with the set of 8 markers by analyzing 22 D. matschiei from Wasaunon on the Huon Peninsula, PNG. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 9 and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.440 to 0.794. We tested for null alleles and Mendelian inheritance by analyzing 19 pairs of D. matschiei parents and offspring from Association of Zoos and Aquariums institutions. Null alleles were not detected and Mendelian inheritance was followed for all 8 markers. We also evaluated the reliability of using the markers to amplify DNA extracted from D. matschiei fecal samples and the ability of the markers to amplify DNA samples from Goodfellow's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi ssp.), Doria's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus dorianus ssp.), and Grizzled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus ssp.). Microsatellite markers can be used to inform management decisions to conserve D. matschiei in captivity and the wild.
5 citations
TL;DR: Post-mortem findings, including scanning electron microscopy, are described and discussed with special reference to data in the literature.
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 1 |
| 1990 | 1 |
| 1985 | 1 |