MACROPODIDAE
From a family exhibiting only a small degree of morphological and ecological variation, within a relatively limited number of species, to one which is quite the reverse! Having spent quite some time mulling over how best to tackle this family, I decided the best way would be to select a member of the most morphologically-distinct lineages, the tree kangaroos, followed by (not to put too fine a point on it) a small species, a mid-range species and a large species from within the various species of more "traditional" wallabies, kangaroos and allied species
So, to begin with - which species of tree kangaroo should we select to represent the group? I was somewhat tempted to pick the Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo, given the fact that it is one of only two species within this lineage to be found in Australia, but truth be told I do not find it particularly appealing in visual terms, and there are few images of the species to choose from within the gallery. The most obvious answer would be to select from one of the two species most commonly found in captive collections - and hence the Zoochat gallery - but which one? I considered picking the Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo given the fact that this was the first member of the family I saw, but firstly I do not wish to "overdo" personal experience as a motive of selection, and secondly I don't actually think this is the most attractive of the two species under consideration. As such, I have selected Matschie's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei). The question of which photograph to use was a shade trickier, given how many excellent images we have of the species within the gallery, but I ultimately decided to pick the following photograph taken by @Tomek of the last individual at Zoo Koln:
As for the question of which three species to select to represent the range of variation within the more "traditional" macropods, I found one or two of the choices relatively easy, but the issue of which small species to select was rather trickier. I could have picked one of the Dorcopsis or Thylogale species, given the fact that these look a little unusual compared to some of their sister species, but somehow it didn't quite feel like any of these taxa "fit" in this post comfortably. Selecting the Parma Wallaby would make for a good conservation story, and the Tammar Wallaby would be tempting given the fact this is - much like the Feather-tailed Glider - a species which eluded me across many collections before I ultimately saw it for the first time at Dierenpark Amersfoort...... but given the fact that both species belong within a genus I intend to highlight anon, I decided that neither would be quite right. Eventually, I was torn between selecting one of the smaller of the Petrogale rock-wallabies, or the species which I did eventually plump for, Quokka (Setonix brachyurus). The factor which swung the matter in the end was one of photograph quality and supply; the latter taxon is well-represented within the gallery with many high-quality images available to choose from. Moreover, this is a species which is rather popular online due to its endearing appearance, yet is currently in something of a precarious position in the wild; although faring well on the famed Rottnest Island, the few remaining mainland populations balance on a knife-edge. As such, I have chosen the following image of a wild individual taken by @LaughingDove on Rottnest Island to represent the taxon:
The final two options, as noted above, are a shade easier; as soon as I started mulling over the subject, I know immediately which two species should be selected. The Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) is not only the largest macropod, but also the largest extant marsupial of all - perhaps the only remaining marsupial which could be justifiably classified as a member of the once-rich megafauna of Australia. To represent this species, I have selected a photograph taken by @ThylacineAlive at Linton Zoo, depicting an individual which I am told was one of the very largest members of the species known, but which has since passed away:
To represent a mid-range macropod species, I knew straight away that I wanted to use an image of Papuan Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis papuanus), one of the most attractive-looking macropod taxa I have seen, and one which (at species level) came extremely close to being lost from European collections entirely in the not-so-distant past; during the dark times when the majority of European macropod studbooks were held by the infamous David Gill, this species in particular fared badly as a result and came incredibly close to dying out. It was only when Rotterdam and Munich refused to send the last of their stock to South Lakes at Gill's demand, and started working together to build captive numbers up once again, that the tide turned. The species is now, as a result, in stable and slowly-increasing numbers once again. The photograph I have selected, which depicts the Papuan race as noted, was taken by @ThylacineAlive at Magdeburg Zoo; not only a rather good image, but a record of a very pleasant trip around a number of German zoos which he embarked upon with @ShonenJake13 in 2018 and which myself and Helly were fortunate-enough to join them on for the Magdeburg and Berlin stretch
From a family exhibiting only a small degree of morphological and ecological variation, within a relatively limited number of species, to one which is quite the reverse! Having spent quite some time mulling over how best to tackle this family, I decided the best way would be to select a member of the most morphologically-distinct lineages, the tree kangaroos, followed by (not to put too fine a point on it) a small species, a mid-range species and a large species from within the various species of more "traditional" wallabies, kangaroos and allied species
So, to begin with - which species of tree kangaroo should we select to represent the group? I was somewhat tempted to pick the Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo, given the fact that it is one of only two species within this lineage to be found in Australia, but truth be told I do not find it particularly appealing in visual terms, and there are few images of the species to choose from within the gallery. The most obvious answer would be to select from one of the two species most commonly found in captive collections - and hence the Zoochat gallery - but which one? I considered picking the Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo given the fact that this was the first member of the family I saw, but firstly I do not wish to "overdo" personal experience as a motive of selection, and secondly I don't actually think this is the most attractive of the two species under consideration. As such, I have selected Matschie's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei). The question of which photograph to use was a shade trickier, given how many excellent images we have of the species within the gallery, but I ultimately decided to pick the following photograph taken by @Tomek of the last individual at Zoo Koln:
As for the question of which three species to select to represent the range of variation within the more "traditional" macropods, I found one or two of the choices relatively easy, but the issue of which small species to select was rather trickier. I could have picked one of the Dorcopsis or Thylogale species, given the fact that these look a little unusual compared to some of their sister species, but somehow it didn't quite feel like any of these taxa "fit" in this post comfortably. Selecting the Parma Wallaby would make for a good conservation story, and the Tammar Wallaby would be tempting given the fact this is - much like the Feather-tailed Glider - a species which eluded me across many collections before I ultimately saw it for the first time at Dierenpark Amersfoort...... but given the fact that both species belong within a genus I intend to highlight anon, I decided that neither would be quite right. Eventually, I was torn between selecting one of the smaller of the Petrogale rock-wallabies, or the species which I did eventually plump for, Quokka (Setonix brachyurus). The factor which swung the matter in the end was one of photograph quality and supply; the latter taxon is well-represented within the gallery with many high-quality images available to choose from. Moreover, this is a species which is rather popular online due to its endearing appearance, yet is currently in something of a precarious position in the wild; although faring well on the famed Rottnest Island, the few remaining mainland populations balance on a knife-edge. As such, I have chosen the following image of a wild individual taken by @LaughingDove on Rottnest Island to represent the taxon:
The final two options, as noted above, are a shade easier; as soon as I started mulling over the subject, I know immediately which two species should be selected. The Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) is not only the largest macropod, but also the largest extant marsupial of all - perhaps the only remaining marsupial which could be justifiably classified as a member of the once-rich megafauna of Australia. To represent this species, I have selected a photograph taken by @ThylacineAlive at Linton Zoo, depicting an individual which I am told was one of the very largest members of the species known, but which has since passed away:
To represent a mid-range macropod species, I knew straight away that I wanted to use an image of Papuan Agile Wallaby (Notamacropus agilis papuanus), one of the most attractive-looking macropod taxa I have seen, and one which (at species level) came extremely close to being lost from European collections entirely in the not-so-distant past; during the dark times when the majority of European macropod studbooks were held by the infamous David Gill, this species in particular fared badly as a result and came incredibly close to dying out. It was only when Rotterdam and Munich refused to send the last of their stock to South Lakes at Gill's demand, and started working together to build captive numbers up once again, that the tide turned. The species is now, as a result, in stable and slowly-increasing numbers once again. The photograph I have selected, which depicts the Papuan race as noted, was taken by @ThylacineAlive at Magdeburg Zoo; not only a rather good image, but a record of a very pleasant trip around a number of German zoos which he embarked upon with @ShonenJake13 in 2018 and which myself and Helly were fortunate-enough to join them on for the Magdeburg and Berlin stretch
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