Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby

About the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby

The yellow-footed rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus), formerly known as the ring-tailed rock-wallaby, is a member of the macropod family (the marsupial family that includes the kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, and wallaroos).

This species was first described by John Edward Grey in 1855 in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. The description was based on two specimens (a male and a female), which were possibly collected from the Richmond River. The illustration that accompanied the published description was produced by Joseph Wolf.

The yellow-footed rock-wallaby is grey to fawn-grey above and light-coloured below with a black mid-dorsal stripe from the crown of the head to the centre of the back. There is a distinct white cheek stripe, with ears ranging in colour from orange to grey-brown. The forearms and hind legs are bright yellow to rich orange to a light orange-brown. The tail is orange-brown irregularly ringed with dark brown and golden-brown, with the colour of the tip variable from dark brown to white. The head and body length is 480–650 mm (usually 600 mm), with tail length 570–700 mm (usually 690 mm), and weight 6–11 kg... Wikipedia →