The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Monotremes and Marsupials

Petauroides
One to three species, depending on taxonomy.



Greater Glider Petauroides volans
Traditionally two subspecies are recognised: minor in tropical Queensland, and volans in eastern Australia in general.

The HMW elevated minor to a full species (Northern Greater Glider) and split volans into two species, the Central Greater Glider P. armillatus and Southern Greater Glider P. volans. This was done on little evidence (mostly on physical appearance), but a paper published in 2020 supported this split on genetic grounds. The paper can be read here: Genetic evidence supports three previously described species of greater glider, Petauroides volans , P. minor , and P. armillatus | Scientific Reports


Found right down the east coast of Australia, with (minor being found from about Cairns down to Townsville; armillatus down to at least the Queensland-NSW border area; and volans from NSW to southern Victoria.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia ([sub]species minor).


Northern Greater Glider (Petauroides minor) | ZooChat


Photo by @ZYBen at David Fleay Wildlife Park, Australia ([sub]species volans).


David Fleays - Feb 2009 | ZooChat


Photo by @LaughingDove at the Queensland Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen).


Greater Glider - Queensland Museum | ZooChat

 

Petropseudes
One species.



Rock Ringtail Possum Petropseudes dahli
Monotypic.

Found across northern Australia, from the Kimberley in Western Australia east to the Queensland border.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Rock Ringtail Possum (Petropseudes dahli) - ZooChat

 

Pseudocheirus
Two species.



Common Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus
At least four subspecies (convolutor, cookii, peregrinus, pulcher), all of which are pictured here, but taxonomic revision is sorely needed. The Western Ringtail (P. occidentalis) was formerly - and still is by various authorities - considered to be a subspecies of P. peregrinus.

Found down the entire east coast of Australia, as well as in Tasmania. The subspecies convolutor is from Tasmania; cookii is from coastal southern NSW and Victoria; peregrinus is from Queensland and inland (i.e. non-coastal areas) of the other eastern states; and pulcher is from southeastern Queensland and coastal north NSW.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies convolutor).


Common Ringtail Possum - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies cookii).


Common Ringtail Possum | ZooChat


Photo by @ro6ca66 at Hamerton Zoo Park, UK (subspecies peregrinus).


Common ringtail possum : Hamerton : 16 Feb 2019 | ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies pulcher).


Ringtail Possum - ZooChat


Western Ringtail Possum Pseudocheirus occidentalis
Monotypic. Equally treated as either a full species or just a subspecies of the Common Ringtail Possum P. peregrinus.

Endemic to southwest Western Australia.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Caversham Wildlife Park, Australia.


western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) | ZooChat

 

Pseudochirulus
Eight species, of which only the two Australian species are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Herbert River Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus herbertensis
Monotypic.

Endemic to a small area of highland rainforest in the Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland, roughly from Ingham to Cairns.


Photo uploaded by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Herbert River Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirulus herbertensis) | ZooChat


Daintree River Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus cinereus
Monotypic. Formerly treated as a subspecies of Pseudochirulus herbertensis.

Endemic to a small area of highland rainforest in the Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland, north of Cairns.


Photo uploaded by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Daintree River Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirulus cinereus) | ZooChat




The remaining species of Pseudochirulus from New Guinea are not represented in the Zoochat galleries:


Lowland Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus canescens
Five subspecies have been described (avarus, bernsteini, canescens, dammermani, gyrator) but revision is needed, distributions are confusing and contradictory, and it may likely be a species-complex.

Found in the lowland and hill forest of New Guinea (mainly in the west and north of the island, and in the southeast). P. c. avarus is found on the southeast peninsula of Papua New Guinea. P. c. bernsteini, described from the island of Salawati off the Vogelkop Peninsula, is probably synonymous with the nominate canescens, for which the type locality is Triton Bay (without wanting to be too complicated, the range of P. c. bernsteini may be restricted to Salawati or to also include the lowland areas of the Vogelkop; P. c. canescens may include the Vogelkop if bernsteini is restricted to Salawati, or may be relegated further to the east if bernsteini also includes the Vogelkop; if bernsteini is not recognised, then canescens would be found throughout western and northern New Guinea's lowland / hill forest including the Vogelkop and Salawati Island, as well as Japen Island). P. c. dammermani is from the hill country of (mainly) Papua New Guinea, although the type locality was in the foothills of the Sudirman Ranges in western New Guinea (then called the Nassau Mountains). P. c. gyrator is from eastern and maybe northern Papua New Guinea (the subspecies was named gyrator after the Gira River in Oro Province, north of Port Moresby in the southeast), although some sources say it is from the northern coastal ranges.


Weyland Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus caroli
Two subspecies: caroli and versteegi.

Found in the western parts of New Guinea's central ranges (being named after the Weyland Mountains). The subspecies versteegi may still only be known from the type specimen, collected in low altitude forest in the Lorentz River basin.


Painted Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus forbesi
Monotypic.

Found only on the southeast peninsula of Papua New Guinea.


Masked Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus larvatus
Monotypic. Formerly included within P. forbesi.

Found in the mountains across central Papua New Guinea to the Huon Peninsula, and in the northern coastal ranges.


Pigmy Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus mayeri
Monotypic.

Found throughout the central ranges of New Guinea.


Vogelkop Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus schlegeli
Monotypic.

Endemic to the mountains of the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New Guinea.

 

Pseudochirops
Five species, of which only the single Australian species is represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Green Ringtail Possum Pseudochirops archeri
Monotypic.

Endemic to a small area of highland rainforest in the Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland, from just north of Townsville to north of Cairns.


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Australia.


Green Ringtail Possum - Halloran's Crater | ZooChat




The remaining species of Pseudochirops from New Guinea are not represented in the Zoochat galleries:


D'Albertis' Ringtail Possum Pseudochirops albertisii
Three subspecies: albertisii, insularis, schultzei.

Found in several isolated mountain areas, on the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New Guinea east to the Weyland Mountains (albertisii), on Japen Island (insularis), and in northern New Guinea (schultzei). Given its very disjunct population, it could be a species-complex.


Plush-coated Ringtail Possum Pseudochirops corinnae
Three subspecies: argenteus, corinnae, fuscus.

Found through New Guinea's central ranges to the Huon Peninsula and through most of the southeast peninsula of Papua New Guinea. The subspecies argenteus is found in the eastern parts of the central ranges and on the Huon Peninsula in eastern Papua New Guinea; corinnae is from the western and middle parts of the central ranges; and fuscus is from the southeastern peninsula of Papua New Guinea.


Reclusive Ringtail Possum Pseudochirops coronatus
Monotypic. Formerly included within P. albertisii.

Endemic to the Arfak Mountains on the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New Guinea.


Coppery Ringtail Possum Pseudochirops cupreus
Monotypic.

Found throughout New Guinea's central ranges (not including the Huon Peninsula), and through most of the southeast peninsula of Papua New Guinea.

 

PETAURIDAE
Gliders and Striped Possums
There are probably somewhere between fifteen and twenty species, in three genera: Petaurus, Gymnobelideus, Dactylopsila

The genus Petaurus is more speciose than previously thought - see the post for that genus below.


Nine species, representing all three genera, are depicted in the Zoochat galleries.

 

Petaurus
Eight species are recognised here, of which seven are represented by photos.

Typically five species are recognised, but recent genetic studies suggest there may be somewhere over ten species, with the Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps in particular being a species-complex.

The five standard species are the Northern Glider P. abidi of New Guinea; Yellow-bellied Glider P. australis of eastern Australia; Sugar Glider P. breviceps of eastern and northern Australia, and New Guinea; Mahogany Glider P. gracilis of Queensland; and Squirrel Glider P. norfolcensis of eastern Australia. Only the first of these is not represented by photos in the Zoochat galleries.

However the Yellow-bellied Glider may be two species (both forms are depicted in the galleries); and the Sugar Glider has recently been split into three species within Australia (P. ariel, P. breviceps, P. notatus) - with there possibly being one or two other cryptic species (from The Kimberley in Western Australia, and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland) - and there may be as many as five other cryptic "Sugar Glider" species in New Guinea. Few of these forms are depicted by photos on Zoochat.

2009 paper on genetics within Petaurus species: https://www.researchgate.net/public...pialia_Petauridae_in_Australia_and_New_Guinea

2020 paper (abstract only) describing the three Australian "Sugar Glider" species: Integrative taxonomic investigation of Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia: Petauridae) reveals three distinct species



Northern Glider Petaurus abidi
Monotypic.

Endemic to the north coast ranges of New Guinea.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Savannah Glider Petaurus ariel
Monotypic. Split from the Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps (complex) in 2020 as a new species. Genetics show it to be more closely related to Petaurus gracilis and Petaurus norfolcensis than to Petaurus breviceps.

Found across northern Australia to at least the western border of Queensland. A genetically-distinct population in the Kimberley (northwest Western Australia) may be an undescribed species.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps ariel) - ZooChat


Yellow-bellied Glider Petaurus australis
Two subspecies: australis and an unnamed Wet Tropics subspecies (possibly a separate species). The subspecific name reginae is often attached to the northern unnamed form, but reginae was actually described from southeastern Queensland, within the distributional range of the nominate subspecies, and is best treated as a synonym of P. a. australis.

Found down the east coast of Australia from central Queensland to southwest Victoria, with an isolated population in the Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland.


Photo by @Najade at Moonlit Sanctuary, Australia (subspecies australis).


Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis) | ZooChat


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia (of the unnamed Wet Tropics form).


Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis) | ZooChat


Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps
Monotypic.

Found in the coastal strip of eastern Australia from southeast Queensland south to the border of NSW and Victoria. The precise limits to the north and south are unknown.


The photo below by @WhistlingKite24 was taken at Wildlife HQ in Queensland (Australia), and these animals may be "true" P. breviceps if local animals. Captive animals in Australia are probably a mix, and I don't have any information on where the pictured animals came from, but the appearance of them matches the split P. breviceps (with the dorsal stripe being sharply-defined on the head but indistinct on the back; and not visible in the photo is that these animals have only a very small white tip to the tail which seems to be a distinguishing feature also).


Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) - ZooChat


Mahogany Glider Petaurus gracilis
Monotypic. Has formerly been treated as a subspecies of P. norfolcensis.

Endemic to a very small area in northeast Queensland.


Photo by @Najade at Kuranda Koala Gardens, Australia.


Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) | ZooChat


Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis
Monotypic.

Found in scattered locations down the east coast of Australia, from Queensland's Cape York Peninsula to central Victoria.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Caversham Wildlife Park, Australia.


squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) | ZooChat


Krefft's Glider Petaurus notatus
Probably monotypic. Formerly treated as a subspecies of P. breviceps.

Found from northern Queensland to southeastern South Australia, excluding the coastal area on the eastern side of the Great Divide (where P. breviceps occurs), and also introduced to Tasmania. The genetically-distinct population on the Cape York Peninsula is likely to be a separate species.


Photo by @Dannelboyz in the wild, Australia (in Victoria, in the range of what used to included within the subspecies P. b. breviceps).


Sugar Glider - Petaurus breviceps breviceps - ZooChat


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Australia (in Queensland, in the range of what used to included within the subspecies P. b. longicaudatus). Note the tapering tail which is a distinguishing feature compared to the more consistent tail shape of the now-split P. breviceps.


Sugar Glider - Chambers Wildlife Lodge | ZooChat


Papuan Glider Petaurus papuanus
Probably a species-complex, but taxonomic limits are unknown following the splits of the Australian forms of "P. breviceps". The next available name for New Guinea animals (after splitting the complex) is P. papuanus, hence I have used that here.

Four subspecies (of what was then known as P. breviceps) have been described from New Guinea: biacensis, flavidus, papuanus, tafa. The first has often been considered as a separate species, but all have also been treated as synonyms of papuanus.

Under those four subspecies, biacensis is found on Biak and Supiori Islands off northwestern New Guinea; flavidus is distributed across southern New Guinea and in the Aru Islands; papuanus across northern New Guinea and the islands to the east; and tafa in the eastern parts of the central ranges, down the southeastern peninsula. The five genetic clades discussed in the 2009 paper linked at the start of this post do not match those distributions however.


The photo below by @Deer Forest2 at Qinhuangdao Wildlife Zoo, China, shows an animals from a western New Guinea population (animals traded in Asia and to the USA originate in the Sorong area, which is in the range of the named subspecies papuanus: The origin of exotic pet sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) kept in the United States of America). Note also the lack of a white tail-tip.


Sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) for taking photos - ZooChat

 

Gymnobelideus
One species



Leadbeater's Possum Gymnobelideus leadbeateri
Possibly two subspecies, the lowland one being unnamed.

Endemic to southern Victoria in Australia, with the main population being in mountain forest near Melbourne and a smaller population in lowland swamp forest at Yellingbo.


Photo by @Najade at Healesville Sanctuary, Australia (of the mountain leadbeateri form).


Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) | ZooChat

 

Dactylopsila
Four species, only one of which is represented in the Zoochat galleries.

The Long-fingered Triok Dactylopsila palpator may be placed in its own genus by some authors, namely Dactylonax (otherwise treated as a subgenus).



Striped Possum Dactylopsila trivirgata
Probably four subspecies: kataui, melampus, picata, trivirgata. Several other subspecies have been named, now synonymised with melampus and trivirgata.

Found throughout most of New Guinea, as well as with a more limited range in the rainforests of northeastern Queensland in Australia. The subspecies kataui is from southern New Guinea; melampus from southeastern Papua New Guinea; picata from northeastern Queensland; and trivirgata from most of western and northern New Guinea, including the islands of Waigeo, Japen, and the Aru Islands (the type specimen was collected from the Aru Islands).


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Australia (subspecies picata).


Striped Possum - Chambers Wildlife Lodge | ZooChat


Photo by @Najade at Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas, Australia, showing the size (subspecies picata).


Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) | ZooChat


Photo by @Tomek at Terrarium Praha, Czech Republic (subspecies trivirgata).


Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) | ZooChat



The other three species of Dactylopsila, all from New Guinea, are not represented in the Zoochat galleries:


Great-tailed Triok Dactylopsila megalura
Monotypic.

Found in the western and central parts of New Guinea's central ranges.


Long-fingered Triok Dactylopsila palpator
Monotypic.

Found in mountains across New Guinea, including on the Vogelkop Peninsula, through the central ranges, on the Huon Peninsula, and on Papua New Guinea's southeastern peninsula.


Tate's Triok Dactylopsila tatei
Monotypic.

Endemic to Fergusson Island off eastern Papua New Guinea. Known from very few specimens.

 

ACROBATIDAE
Feathertail Gliders
Three species in two genera, Acrobates and Distoechurus.



Acrobates
Two species.



The genus Acrobates formerly contained just a single species, the Narrow-toed Feathertail Glider Acrobates pygmaeus, with two subspecies (pygmaeus and frontalis). The latter subspecies was elevated to a full species in 2012 based on morphology and genetics and named the Broad-toed Feathertail Glider Acrobates frontalis. There is little publicly available to say whether the captive population is known to be pure or hybrid, or if it is maintained (in Australia) as separate units.



Broad-toed Feathertail Glider Acrobates frontalis
Monotypic.


Photo uploaded by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Broad-toed Feathertail Glider (Acrobates frontalis) | ZooChat


The photo below by @WhistlingKite24 of a taxidermy specimen at the Queensland Museum, Australia, shows the "feather tail" well.

(The photo is titled as being the Broad-toed Feathertail Glider Acrobates frontalis but I'm not sure if the museum's labelling is accurate or not).


Broad-toed Feathertail Glider (Acrobates frontalis) | ZooChat


Narrow-toed Feathertail Glider Acrobates pygmaeus
Monotypic.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Narrow-toed Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus) | ZooChat



Distoechurus
One species.



Feather-tailed Possum Distoechurus pennatus
Monotypic.

Found throughout most of New Guinea, excluding the lowlands of the south and west.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.

 

TARSIPEDIDAE
Honey Possum
One species.



Honey Possum Tarsipes rostratus
Monotypic.

Endemic to coastal heath in southwest Western Australia.



Photo by @Najade in the wild, Australia.


Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) | ZooChat

 

HYPSIPRYMNODONTIDAE
Musky Rat Kangaroo
One species.



Musky Rat Kangaroo Hypsiprymnodon moschatus
Monotypic.

Endemic to a small area of the Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland in Australia, roughly between Ingham and Cooktown.


Photos below by @Chlidonias in the wild, Australia.


Musky Rat-Kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) | ZooChat


Musky Rat-Kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) | ZooChat

 

POTOROIDAE
Rat Kangaroos
Twelve species in four genera: Aepyprymnus, Potorous, Bettongia, Caloprymnus.


The Desert Rat Kangaroo Caloprymnus campestris became extinct in the 1930s and Broad-faced Potoroo Potorous platyops in the late 1800s. Two species of bettongs (Bettongia anhydra and Bettongia pusilla) are known from only one specimen each and are likewise thought to have become extinct in the early days of European settlement. Only the first of these four extinct species is represented in the Zoochat galleries (as a museum specimen). Of the eight extant species, seven are represented in the Zoochat galleries (representing all three of the extant genera).

 

Aepyprymnus
One species.



Rufous Bettong Aepyprymnus rufescens
Monotypic.

Found down eastern Australia, from northeast Queensland south to northeast NSW. Formerly also in inland NSW and Victoria.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Caversham Wildlife Park, Australia.


rufous bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens) | ZooChat

 

Potorous
Four species (one extinct). Two species are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Gilbert's Potoroo Potorous gilbertii
Monotypic.

Endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It was thought to have become extinct in the early 1870s, but was rediscovered at Two Peoples Bay in 1994. Other populations were later established via introductions on Bald Island and Middle Island, both off Western Australia's coast.


Photo by @Najade of a wild-caught animal, Australia.


Gilbert’s Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) | ZooChat


Long-footed Potoroo Potorous longipes
Monotypic.

Restricted to a very small area around the border of coastal Victoria and NSW.


Not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Broad-faced Potoroo Potorous platyops
Monotypic.

Extinct since about the mid-1870s. Formerly found in southwest Western Australia.


Not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Long-nosed Potoroo Potorous tridactylus
Two subspecies: apicalis and tridactylus.

Found in Tasmania (apicalis) and in southeastern Australia from southeast Queensland south to southwest Victoria (tridactylus).


Photo by @Hix at Trowunna Wildlife Park, Australia (Tasmanian subspecies apicalis).


Long-nosed Potoroo with pouch young - ZooChat


Photo by @Najade at Cleland Wildlife Park, Australia (mainland subspecies tridactylus).


Long-nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) | ZooChat

 

Bettongia
Six species (two of which are extinct). The four extant species are all represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Lake Mackay Bettong Bettongia anhydra
Monotypic.

Known from just one specimen, collected in 1933 near Lake Mackay in the Northern Territory, of which only the skull was preserved. Initially treated as a subspecies of B. penicillata, it was later synonymised with B. lesueur. It was resurrected as a distinct species in 2015.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Eastern Bettong Bettongia gaimardi
Two subspecies: cuniculus and gaimardi. The latter is now extinct.

Now found only in Tasmania (cuniculus). Formerly occurred down eastern Australia from southeast Queensland to southeast South Australia (gaimardi).


Photo by @Hix at Wings Wildlife Park, Australia (subspecies cuniculus).


Tasmanian Bettong - ZooChat


Burrowing Bettong or Boodie Bettongia lesueur
Three subspecies: graii (now extinct), lesueur, and as-yet-unnamed one from Barrow and Boodie Islands. There is a suggestion that the unnamed form may in fact be a separate species.

Formerly widespread across central and western Australia (graii). Now restricted to small islands off Western Australia - Bernier and Dorre Islands in Shark Bay (lesueur) and Barrow and Boodie Islands off Pilbara (unnamed subspecies).


Photo by @Chlidonias at Barna Mia, Australia (subspecies lesueur)


Boodie (Bettongia lesueuri) | ZooChat


Brush-tailed Bettong or Woylie Bettongia penicillata
Two subspecies: ogilbyi and penicillata. The latter is now extinct.

Originally found across southern and west-central Australia, now restricted to a few relict populations in southwest Western Australia (subspecies ogilbyi). The extinct nominate subspecies penicillata was found in the southeastern part of the range.


Photo by @Michal Sloviak at Zoo Plzen, Czech Republic (subspecies ogilbyi).


Woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) | ZooChat


Nullabor Dwarf Bettong Bettongia pusilla
Monotypic.

Known only from skeletal remains collected in caves on the Nullabor Plain in southern Australia. The species was described in 1997 and is thought to have become extinct unnoticed after the introduction of exotic predators by Europeans.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Northern Bettong Bettongia tropica
Monotypic.

Endemic to a small area of northeastern Queensland.


Photo by @Giant Eland at David Fleay Wildlife Park, Australia.


David Fleay Wildlife Park 2007 | ZooChat

 

Caloprymnus
One species.

Extinct. Represented in the Zoochat galleries only by a museum study specimen.



Desert Rat Kangaroo Caloprymnus campestris
Monotypic.

Extinct since about the 1930s. Known only from the gibber deserts in east-central Australia, around the meeting point of northeast South Australia and southwest Queensland.


Photo by @Najade at the South Australian Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen [the upper one in the photo]).


Desert Rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) | ZooChat

 

MACROPODIDAE
Kangaroos and Wallabies
There are 66 species in 13 genera: Lagostrophus, Lagorchestes, Setonix, Thylogale, Macropus, Osphranter, Notamacropus, Wallabia, Onychogalea, Petrogale, Dorcopsis, Dorcopsulus, Dendrogale

There are 52 species from twelve genera represented in the Zoochat galleries (some only by museum specimens). The only genus not yet represented is Dorcopsulus from New Guinea.

 

Lagostrophus
One species.



Banded Hare Wallaby Lagostrophus fasciatus
Two subspecies: baudinettei (now extinct) and fasciatus (now restricted to offshore islands). The subspecific name albipilis was formerly used for the (now extinct) mainland populations of fasciatus.

Formerly occurred across southern and eastern Australia (baudinettei), and western Australia (fasciatus - now restricted to Bernier and Dorre Islands in Shark Bay).


Both photos below by @Najade at Wadderin Sanctuary, Australia (subspecies fasciatus).


Banded Hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus) | ZooChat



Banded Hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus) | ZooChat

 

Lagorchestes
Four species (two of which are extinct).



Lake Mackay (Central) Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes asomatus
Monotypic.

Extinct. Known only from one specimen collected in 1932, which was preserved only as the skull.


This species is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Spectacled Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes conspicillatus
Two subspecies: conspicillatus and leichardti.

Formerly found across northern Australia, now mostly gone from Western Australia but still widespread across the Northern Territory and Queensland (leichardti). The nominate subspecies conspicillatus is restricted to Barrow Island off Western Australia.


Photo by @Giant Eland at Territory Wildlife Park, Australia (mainland subspecies leichardti).


spectacled hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes conspicillatus) | ZooChat


Rufous Hare Wallaby or Mala Lagorchestes hirsutus
Possibly monotypic. Four subspecies have been recognised but they are all similar genetically: bernieri, dorreae, hirsutus, and an unnamed one from Central Australia.

Formerly found throughout the central and western Australian deserts. Now restricted mainly to small islands off Western Australia, on Bernier (bernieri) and Dorre (dorreae). The extinct subspecies hirsutus was from the mainland of southwestern Australia. The unnamed Central Australian population became extinct in the wild in 1991 but survives in captivity and as translocations to offshore islands.


Photo by @Najade at Barna Mia, Australia (if separated to subspecies, this would be of the unnamed mainland one).


Rufous Hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus) | ZooChat


Eastern Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes leporides
Monotypic.

Extinct. Last recorded in 1889. Formerly found in the inland grasslands of southeastern Australia.


Photo by @Najade at the South Australian Museum, Australia (taxidermy specimen).


Eastern Hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes leporides) | ZooChat