Thylogale billardieru (Desmarest, 1822)

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

10.

Rufous-bellied Pademelon

Thylogale billardieru

French: Thylogale a ventre roux / German: Rotbauchfilander / Spanish: Pademelon de Tasmania

Other common names: Pademelon, Red-bellied Pademelon, Rufous Wallaby, Tasmanian Pademelon

Taxonomy. Kangurus billardieri Desmarest, 1822 ,

Tasmania, Australia.

Monotypic.

Distribution. Tasmania, including Schouten I and Bruny I (off E coast) and De Witt I (S coast), and islands in Bass Strait (Cape Barren, Clarke, East Sister, Flinders, Hunter, King, Prime Seal, Robbins).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 56-63 cm, tail 32—41-7 cm; weight 3.8-12 kg (males) and 2.4-10 kg (females). Large, stocky, short-tailed, densely furred, dark pademelon. Dark brown flecked with gray dorsally, light brown tinged with rufous ventrally, including chin and around mouth. Head and limbs occasionally tinged with rufous, and indistinct pale hip stripe sometimes present. Tail well furred for a pademelon, sometimes paler ventrally. Diploid chromosome number is 22.

Habitat. Temperate rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest and shrubland, also dry sclerophyll forest, woodland, and eucalypt plantations. It occurs also in agricultural and peri-urban areas where patches of dense vegetation remain. From sea level to 1400 m elevation.

Food and Feeding. Short green grasses and broad-leaf forbs are major dietary components (90%), although browse from trees and bushes is also consumed. Grasses consumed according to their availability, but broad-leaf forbs are selected for.

Breeding. Sexual maturity is reached at c.14 months in females and 15 months in males. Females are continuous breeders, producing one young per pregnancy, although with a distinct seasonal peak of births in late autumn and early winter, and often a secondary peak in early summer. Females exhibit embryonic diapause and post-partum estrus, usually mating within 24 hours of giving birth. The estrous cycle is 30-32 (mean 30) days and gestation 30-31 (mean 30) days. Young spend 6-7 months in the pouch and are weaned after nine months. After final pouch emergence, young accompany mother as a young-at-foot until after weaning, when female can become aggressive toward young. Adult male is significantly larger than adult female, suggesting that there is intense competition among males for access to females. Males also have relatively large testes for their body size, suggesting that female mates with multiple males and that sperm competition exists. Mating lasts for 2-8 minutes and may occur multiple times over an hour.

Activity patterns. Largely nocturnal. Shelters in dense vegetation during day, emerging around dusk to forage in more open areas at night, usually returning to shelter before dawn.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Feeds mostly close to cover and rarely ventures more than 100 m from dense vegetation. Rapidly retreats to cover if disturbed. Largely solitary, although feeding aggregations of ten or more individuals may occur. Individuals spend more time foraging and less time vigilant as aggregations increase in size. In captivity, both males and females were often aggressive to members of same sex. Average home range (100% minimum convex polygon) is 30 ha for males and 15 ha for females in eucalypt plantations, but considerably smaller (2-5 ha) on agricultural land. Individuals sometimes travel more than 2 km to open feeding areas.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Previously present also in southern Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Although these populations on Australian mainland became extinct in 1920s, this speciesis still widespread and common in Tasmania, being regularly culled in agricultural and forestry areas, as well as commercially harvested. In many parts of Tasmania, it appears to have benefited from fragmentation of native vegetation and establishment of pasture. It is present in many protected areas. If recently introduced Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) succeeds in establishing itself in Tasmania, however, the Rufous-bellied Pademelon is likely to decline, as it did on the mainland.

Bibliography. Abbott & Burbidge (1995), Blumstein & Daniel (2003b), DOE (2012), Hayman (1989), Johnson & Rose (2008), le Mar & McArthur (2005), le Mar et al. (2003), Menkhorst & Denny (2008), Menkhorst & Knight (2001), Morton & Burton (1973), Paplinska et al. (2010), Rose & McCartney (1982a, 1982b), Rose et al. (1997), Sarre et al. (2013), Sprent & McArthur (2002), While & McArthur (2005, 2006), Wiggins & Bowman (2011).

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. Tasmania, including Schouten I and Bruny I (off E coast) and De Witt I (S coast), and islands in Bass Strait (Cape Barren, Clarke, East Sister, Flinders, Hunter, King, Prime Seal, Robbins).