Brown Dorcopsis

About the Brown Dorcopsis

The brown dorcopsis (Dorcopsis muelleri), also known as the brown forest wallaby, is a species of marsupial in the family Macropodidae. It is endemic to the lowlands of West New Guinea (Southwest Papua, West Papua, Central Papua, Papua) and the nearby Indonesian islands (Salawati, Misool, Yapen).

The species was originally described under the name Kangurus veterum by René Lesson. The lack of a physical holotype has led to confusion as to whether that name applies to this species or to the sympatric grizzled tree kangaroo. Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard would give the species a new name soon after: Kangurus brunii, which was a preoccupied name and therefore could not be used. The next name given to this species would be Hermann Schlegel's "Macropus muelleri" over 25 years later.

This species has consistently been called Dorcopsis muelleri since 1866; however, many authors and taxonomic databases continue to recognize Lesson as the author, even though the specific epithet muelleri does not appear in his 1827 work. The American Society of Mammalogists recognizes Schlegel as the correct author, but Wilson & Reeder's 2005 work Mammal Species of the World and the ITIS both recognize... Wikipedia →