Thylogale thetis (Lesson, 1827)

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Macropodidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 630-735 : 699

11.

Red-necked Pademelon

Thylogale thetis

French: Thylogale a cou rouge / German: Rothalsfilander / Spanish: Pademelon de cuello rojo

Other common names: Pademelon Wallaby

Taxonomy. Halmaturus thetis Lesson, 1827 ,

“ du Port-Jackson ,” (= Sydney Harbor), New South Wales, Australia.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. E Australia from Gladstone, SE Queensland,to the Illawarra in SE New South Wales.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 30-62 cm (males) and 29-50 cm (females), tail 27— 51 cm (males) and 27-37 cm (females); weight 2.5-9.1 kg (males) and 1.8-4.3 kg (females). Medium-sized, short-tailed pademelon. Brownish gray dorsally, cream to off-white ventrally. Neck, shoulders, and upper arms reddish. Arms and feet grayish, faint pale hip stripe. Limbs largely hairless on inside. Tail sparsely furred or bare laterally, with dorsal and ventral fur very short but dense; grayish brown dorsally, paler and sometimes reddish ventrally. Diploid chromosome number is 22.

Habitat. Subtropical rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest. Rare within dense forest, but common where grassy areas or pasture present adjacent to forest.

Food and Feeding. Predominantly grasses, but browse (trees, shrubs, vines), ferns, and some fungi are also consumed.

Breeding. Both sexes reach sexual maturity from eleven months in captivity and 17 months in wild. Females are continuous breeders, producing one young per pregnancy, although there are peaks in births during spring and autumn. Young spend around six months in pouch and after permanent pouch emergence accompany the mother as a young-at-foot until after weaning. Adult males are significantly larger than adult females, suggesting intense competition among males for access to females. There is also evidence that estrous females favor the largest available male.

Activity patterns. Active both day and night. During daylight, between periods ofrest, moves around in forest while feeding, and in winter will also bask in sun in small clearings. In late afternoon and early evening follows well-established runways to more open areas to forage until just before dawn.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Rarely ventures more than 70 m from forest edge and rapidly returns to forest if disturbed. Largely solitary, although feeding aggregations of ten or more commonly occur in grassy areas adjacent to forest. Home ranges (100% minimum convex polygon) averaged 11 ha for females and 16 ha for males, encompassing spatially distinct large diurnal ranges within forest and small nocturnal ranges on forest—pasture boundary. Individuals move rapidly between nocturnal and diurnal ranges just after dusk and prior to dawn. In the open, individuals spend more time feeding in larger aggregations, but also more time vigilant with greater distance to nearest neighbor and to forest edge. Juveniles and mothers with young forage closer to forest edge than other individuals do. Larger feeding aggregations appear to venture farther from forest edge than smaller groups do.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Although this species has declined historically as a result of forest clearance for agriculture, it remains common in parts of its range. Formerly occurred south in New South Wales to Bega, but these populations are now extinct. On the other hand, some northern populations have benefited from forest fragmentation and the establishment of pasture. It occurs in protected areas in both New South Wales and Queensland.

Bibliography. Ellis, Denny et al. (2008), Hayman (1989), Jarman & Phillips (1989), Johnson, K.A. (1977, 1980, 2008b), Johnson, PM. (2003), Lunney & Leary (1988), Pays, Dubot et al. (2009), Radford et al. (1998), Wahungu et al. (1999, 2001).

Figures

10. Rufous-bellied Pademelon (Thylogale billardieru), 11. Red-necked Pademelon (Thylogale thetis), 12. Red-legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica), 13. New Guinea Pademelon (Thylogale browni), 14. Dusky Pademelon (Thylogale brunii), 15. Calaby’s Pademelon (Thylogale calabyi), 16. Bennett's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus), 17. Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi), 18. Grizzled Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus inustus), 19. Vogelkop Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus ursinus), 20. Dingiso (Dendrolagus mbaiso), 21. Doria’s. 9 Tree Kangaroo Dendrolagus (- dorianus), 22. Scott’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus scottae), 23. Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus goodfellowi), 24. Huon Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschie), 25. Lowland Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus spadix)

Distribution. E Australia from Gladstone, SE Queensland,to the Illawarra in SE New South Wales.