Tree-kangaroo
Also known as Dendrolagus
Tree-kangaroos are marsupials of the genus Dendrolagus, adapted for arboreal locomotion. They inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and far northeastern Queensland, Australia along with some of the islands in the region. Most species of tree-kangaroo are considered threatened due to hunting and habitat destruction. They are the only true arboreal macropods.
Species
Dendrolagues, Kangourous arboricoles Les Dendrolagues (littéralement : lapins arboricoles) ou Kangourous arboricoles (genre Dendrolagus) sont des macropodidés arboricoles. On les trouve exclusivement dans les forêts tropicales de Nouvelle-Guinée et dans l'extrême nord-est du Queensland en Australie et les îles environnantes, généralement dans les régions montagneuses. Tous sont menacés d'extinction. Sommaire 1 Description et caractéristiques 2 Les espèces 3 Références taxinomiques 4 Notes et références Description et caractéristiques Dendrolagus matcheiei Comme les kangourous et les wallabys, les dendrolagues ont des pattes arrière massives avec des pieds longs et étroits. Les dendrolagues ont développé de très longues queues pour un meilleur équilibre et des pattes avant plus puissantes pour mieux pouvoir grimper aux arbres. Leurs pieds sont plus courts et plus larges, avec de grandes griffes et des coussinets plantaires. À la différence des autres macropodes, ils peuvent avancer leurs pattes alternativement ce qui leur permet de marcher au lieu de sauter. Il semble que les premiers marsupiaux aient été de petits marsupiaux arboricoles qui ressemblaient aux possums actuels puis ce
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Article
15 sectionsContents
- Evolutionary history
- Taxonomy
- Species
- Distribution and habitat
- Description
- Behaviour
- Locomotion
- Diet
- Reproduction
- Threats
- Captivity
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
Tree-kangaroos are marsupials of the genus Dendrolagus, adapted for arboreal locomotion. They inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and far northeastern Queensland, Australia along with some of the islands in the region. Most species of tree-kangaroo are considered threatened due to hunting and habitat destruction. They are the only true arboreal macropods.
==Evolutionary history== The evolutionary history of tree-kangaroos possibly begins with a rainforest floor-dwelling pademelon-like ancestor. This ancestor possibly evolved from an arboreal possum-like ancestor as is suspected of all macropodid marsupials in Australia and New Guinea. During the late Eocene, the Australian/New Guinean continent began a period of drying that caused a retreat in the area of rainforest, which forced the ancestral pademelons to begin living in a drier, rockier environment. After some generations of adaptation to the new environment, the pademelons may have evolved into rock-wallabies (Petrogale spp.), which developed a generalist feeding strategy due to their dependence on a diverse assortment of vegetation refuges. This generalist strategy allowed the rock-wallabies to easily adapt to Malesian rainforest types that were introduced to Australia from Asia during the mid-Miocene. The rock-wallabies that migrated into these introduced forests adapted to spend more time climbing trees. One species in particular, the Proserpine rock-wallaby (Petrogale persephone), displays equal preference for climbing trees as for living in rocky outcrops. During the Late Miocene, the semi-arboreal rock-wallabies could have evolved into the now extinct tree-kangaroo genus Bohra. Global cooling during the Pleistocene caused continent-wide drying and rainforest retractions in Australia and New Guinea.