Notamacropus parma (Waterhouse, 1845)

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 : 734-735

59.

Parma Wallaby

Notamacropus parma

French: Wallaby de Parma / German: Parma-Wallaby / Spanish: Ualabi parma

Other common names: \ White-throated Wallaby

Taxonomy. Macropus (Halmaturus) parma Waterhouse, 1845 ,

“ New South Wales,” Australia.

Previously placed in genus Macropus , within which moved into subgenus Notamacropus in 1985; in 2015 Notamacropus was elevated to full genus status. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Australia, patchily distributed in coastal ranges of E New South Wales from Gibraltar Range to N of Sydney.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 48.2-52.8 cm (males) and 44.7-52.7 cm (females), tail 48:9-54.4 cm (males) and 40.5-50.7 cm (females); weight 4.1-5.9 kg (males) and 3.2-4.8 kg (females). A small, long-tailed wallaby; hops with arms held against chest. Dark reddish brown to gray-brown dorsally, lightly grizzled with pale hairs; throat and upper chest white, lower chest and belly pale gray, tipped with cream. Limbs and shoulders often paler than body, face more grayish. Indistinct dark mid-dorsal stripe from top of head to mid-back. White stripe on muzzle and white margin at base of ear. Tail sparsely furred ventrally and laterally, pale ventrally, tip often white. Diploid chromosome number is 16.

Habitat. Wet sclerophyll forest with dense shrubby understory, typically in gullies. Occasionally in dry sclerophyll forest with dense understory of bladey grass, bracken, and heath, or near swamps. Can occur also on edges of heavily disturbed rainforest. Optimum habitat has dense understory near open grassy areas, including farmland margins and roadsides.

Food and Feeding. Poorly known. Reported to consume grasses and herbs.

Breeding. Females reach sexual maturity from twelve months and males from 20 months. Females breed throughout year, producing one young per pregnancy, although there may be a peak of births in late summer and autumn. Exhibits embryonic diapause, but most females do not have an estrus shortly after giving birth; instead, they come into estrus 45-105 days after the young is born. The estrous cycle is 36-59 (mean 42) days and gestation 33-36 (mean 35) days. Young spend around seven months in the pouch and are weaned by ten months. After permanent pouch emergence, young accompanies the mother as a young-at-foot until after weaning. Males test the estrous state of a female by vigorous pawing and sniffing at her cloaca, eliciting urination and exhibiting flehmen (lip-curl). Copulation is brief in duration (1-2 minutes).

Activity patterns. Nocturnal and secretive. Spends the day resting in dense vegetation. Emerges around dusk to feed in more open grassy areas. Occasionally seen in early morning and afternoon on wet, overcast days, and in evening on fine days. In captivity, individuals were active throughout night, but with distinct peak in hours immediately prior to dawn.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Probably sedentary. Moves along well-established runways through the overgrowth. Primarily solitary; seen mostly alone, but groups of two or three individuals have been reported.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Parma Wallaby has declined in the last 200 years as a consequence ofhabitat loss due to clearing for agriculture and introduced predators, especially Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). It was thought to be extinct until 1965, when a large introduced population was discovered on Kawau Island, New Zealand. This population, introduced to Kawau in 1870s, has been widely used to establish Parma Wallabies in captivity within Australia and worldwide. In 1967 the Parma Wallaby was rediscovered just north of Sydney, in Australia, subsequent surveys establishing its presence throughout much of its previously known range, except for areas south of Sydney (where it previously occurred from the Illawarra to Bega). Although the species remains vulnerable to Red Fox predation, the dense vegetation at most currently occupied sites appears to offer sufficient protection to allow populations to persist. The impact of burning and cattle grazing on habitat quality at somesites, however, remains uncertain. Attempts to reintroduce captive-bred Parma Wallabies into the Illawarra region, south of Sydney, in 1988 failed as a result of fox predation. The KawauIsland population has been regularly culled for decades and is currently the target of a conservation programto eradicate introduced species. Parma Wallabies occur in multiple protected areas, as well as in forests used for timber production. Additional research on the species’ ecology, particularly diet, habitat usage, social structure, and the impact of habitat disturbance and other potential threats, is required.

Bibliography. Dawson & Flannery (1985), Groves (2005b), Hayman (1989), Herter et al. (1985), lvy et al. (2009), Jackson & Groves (2015), King (2005), Lunney & Leary (1988), Lunney & McKenzie (2008), Maynes (1973, 1974, 1977a, 1977b, 2008), McKenzie & Cooper (1995), Menkhorst & Knight (2001), Ord et al. (1999), Read & Fox (1991), Shaw & Pierce (2002), Short et al. (1992), Taylor et al. (1999), Vernes & Cooper (2007), Warburton (1986), Wodzicki & Flux (1967), Woinarski et al. (2014af).

Figures

47. Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), 48. Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), 49. Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), 50. Black Wallaroo (Osphranter bernardus), 51. Antilopine Wallaroo (Osphranter antilopinus), 52. Common Wallaroo (Osphranter robustus), 53. Whip-tailed Wallaby (Notamacropus parryi), 54. Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis), 55. Red-necked Wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus), 56. Western Brush Wallaby (Notamacropus irma), 57. Black-striped Wallaby (Notamacropus dorsalis), 58. Tammar Wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii), 59. Parma Wallaby (Notamacropus parma)

Distribution. E Australia, patchily distributed in coastal ranges of E New South Wales from Gibraltar Range to N of Sydney.