Dendrolagus matschiei, Forster & Rothschild, 1907

Eldridge, Mark D. B., Potter, Sally, Pratt, Renae, Johnson, Rebecca N., Flannery, Tim F. & Helgen, Kristofer M., 2024, Molecular systematics of the Dendrolagus goodfellowi species group (Marsupialia: Macropodidae), Records of the Australian Museum 76 (2), pp. 105-129 : 119

Dendrolagus matschiei

Förster and Rothschild, 1907

Dendrolagus matschiei flavidior Matschie, 1912

Dendrolagus deltae Troughton and Le Souef, 1936

Dendrolagus matschiei xanthotis Rothschild and Dollman, 1936

Common Names. Huon Tree-kangaroo, Matschie’s Tree-kangaroo

Holotype. BMNH1939.2027 , adult male, skin. Rawlinson Mountains , Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea.

AMNH 194792, AMNH 236864, AMNH 236955, BMNH 14.2.18.2, BMNH 46.131, NMV 12642, MVZ 133135, PNGM 24141, PNGM 24289, PNGM 24518, PNGM 25376, RMNH 325, UPNG 581, USNM 521044, USNM 582438, USNM 582898, 598003.

Distribution. Dendrolagus matschiei occurs in the mountain ranges of the Huon Peninsula, in north-eastern New Guinea (Morobe and Madang Provinces of Papua New Guinea), including the Finisterre, Cromwell, Saruwaged, and Rawlinson Ranges, in mid- to upper-montane tropical rainforest, 1000 to 3300 m elevation ( Flannery et al., 1996; Valentine et al., 2021). It also occurs on Umboi Island, where it may have been introduced in prehistory ( Heinsohn, 2003). Previously thought to also have been introduced to Mt Agulupella in West New Britain ( Flannery et al., 1996), but recent photographic evidence indicates that the species on New Britain appears to be more like D. goodfellowi .

Given the morphological ( Groves, 1982) and genetic resemblance of the type series of D. deltae , supposedly from Mt. Pratt on the southern margin of the Central Cordillera, to D. matschiei , we confidently identify deltae as a synonym of D. matschiei and regard these specimens as mislabelled animals that originally must have come from the Huon Peninsula, firmly resolving an old riddle in New Guinea mammalogy ( Helgen et al., 2011).

Description. Dendrolagus matschiei can be distinguished from other members of the Goodfellow’s group by its relatively short tail ( Table 4), dense fur, uniformly paleyellow tail and dark dorsal stripe ( Fig. 6 ). Warm brown dorsally and around the neck, paler on rump; underfur yellowish brown. A prominent dark brown mid-dorsal stripe runs from the top of the head to the base of tail. Paired hair whorls are present on either side of dorsal midline on the mid-lower back. The throat, chest, abdomen, inside of limbs, lower limbs, paws, feet and tail are pale yellow to gold. The head and face are brown, but with pale yellow to gold colouration, highly variable in extent, on the muzzle, forehead, around eyes and on ears. The tail is the same length as the head/body or shorter ( Table 4) and is densely covered with short hairs. Typically, there is an abrupt colour change dorsally from the yellow tail base to the brown rump, but occasionally in some specimens it can intergrade more gradually ( Eldridge & Coulson, 2015).

Remarks. Listed as ‘Endangered’ on The IUCN Red List ( Ziembicki & Porolak, 2016). Dendrolagus matschiei has been a major focus of a community-based conservation program run by the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) (Schwartz et al., 2021; TKCP, 2023), including the establishment of the YUS protected area ( Dabek & Wells, 2021).

Other material examined. AM M.3799, AM M.4032, AM M.4195, AM M.4205, AM M.4320, AM M.4326 , AM M.5418 (holotype of D. deltae ) , AM M.5420 (paratype of D. deltae ), AM M.6062, AM M.6751, AM M.6812, AM M.7869, AM M.7999, AM M.19579, AM M.39754, AMNH 190990 , AMNH 194792 , AMNH 194798 , AMNH 194800 ,

Figures

Figure 6. Comparison of pelage variation across taxa in the Goodfellow’s group. Left to right: D. g. buergersi (AM M.17213), D. g. goodfellowi (AM M D. matschiei (AM M.6062), and D. spadix (AM M.17212).