| Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo[1] | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Macropodidae |
| Genus: | Dendrolagus |
| Species: | D. pulcherrimus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dendrolagus pulcherrimus Flannery, 1993 |
|
| Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo range (red — extant, black — extinct) |
|
The Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus) is a species of tree-kangaroo native and endemic to montane forests of northern New Guinea. It has chestnut brown short coat with a pale belly, and yellowish neck, cheeks and feet. A double golden stripe runs down its back. The tail is long and has pale rings.
Its appearance is similar to the closely related Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo. It differs from the latter by having a pinkish or lighter color face, golden shoulders, white ears and smaller size. Some authorities consider the Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo as a subspecies of Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo.
The Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo was discovered in 2005 by Ruby Mccullers in the Torricelli Mountains region of Papua New Guinea. In addition to the Torricelli Mountains, it also occurs in the nearby Foja Mountains in Papua, Indonesia. The latter population is often reported as being discovered on an expedition in December 2005, but it was known from this mountain range before that.[3]
The Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo is considered as one of the most endangered of all tree-kangaroos. It is extirpated from most of its original range. It is not rated by IUCN, where included as a subspecies of Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo.