Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby
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| Onychogalea fraenata (Gould, 1841) |
The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby Onychogalea fraenata is a wallaby which has white 'bridle' line, running down from the back of the neck. Another distinguishing feature is the horny spur on the end of its tail which is usually from 3 to 6 mm long) and is partly covered by hair. The use of the spur is not clearly understood. Some other markings include:
- a black dorsal stripe along the back
- stripes on the cheeks (often found on other species of wallabies as well)
The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby can grow to 1 meter length, half of which is tail, and weighs 4 to 8 kg. Females are somewhat smaller than the males.
The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby can be found only on one reserve near Dingo in central Queensland, Australia.
The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby feeds at dusk and during the night. It sleeps during the day (therefore it is nocturnal), usually in a hollow beside bushes or trees. It keeps close to the edges of pasture grasses. Basically these wallabies are shy and solitary animals, but occasionally form small groups of up to 4 to feed together when grazing is in short supply. The Bridled Nail-tail Wallaby likes to avoid confrontation and has two main ways of avoiding threats - hiding in hollow logs and crawling under low shrubs. If caught in the open, it may try to lie completely still hoping not to be observed.
Joeys are brought up in the mother's pouch. One young is born at a time and availability of food sources determine how often they breed. The gestation period is about 23 days and the joey stays in the pouch for around 4 months.
[edit] References
- Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Onychogalea fraenata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN A1a, C1+2b v2.3)
- Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 66. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
