Identification of an eastern short-eared rock-wallaby (Petrogale wilkinsi) population in Queensland: a significant range extension

Abstract

A new population of eastern short eared rock-wallaby (Petrogale wilkinsi) has been recorded in Queensland. The animals were photographed on a sandstone cliff face in Lawn Hill Gorge, Boodjamulla National Park, ~160km from the closest record on Wollogorang Station in the Northern Territory. The species was originally thought to occur north of the 600-mm rainfall isohyet, with most of the population found in the monsoonal tropics of the Top End. This record significantly extends the known range of this taxon to the south-east and places P. wilkinsi at the 450-mm rainfall isohyet. Sympatry in rock-wallabies is unusual but P. wilkinsi at Boodjamulla appears to be sympatric with the more common purple necked rock-wallaby (Petrogale purpureicollis). A recent taxonomic revision of the brachyotis group found that there was a significant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) divergence between the Wollogorang record and the rest of the P. wilkinsi group further north, but further genetic sampling across the southern Gulf of Carpentaria is required to determine whether these populations represent an additional distinct taxon.