Dusky wallaby
The Dusky pademelon (Thylogale brunii) is a species of marsupial found in New Guinea. The scientific name of this pademelon honors Cornelis de Bruijn, the Dutch painter who first described it in the second volume of his Travels, originally published in 1711. The Dusky pademelon is also known as kutwal (or kotwal) in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea.
Dusky pademelons are small in size. They are grey-brown to chocolate-brown in color and have short, thick, and sparsely-haired tails. Like most other marsupials, they carry their young in a pouch.
Dusky pademelons occur in the Aru and Kai islands and the Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands ecoregion of New Guinea. They live in subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
Dusky pademelons prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle and meet with each other only during the mating season. They are active from late evening until the early morning. They travel long distances in search of food and make tunnels through long grasses and bushes which they use when moving from grazing sites to their sleeping areas.
Dusky pademelons are herbivores (graminivores, folivores, frugivores). Their diet includes grasses, leaves, herbs, shoots, flowers, and fruits.
Dusky pademelons breed throughout the year. Females give birth to a single joey after the gestation period that lasts for about 1 month. The young is blind, naked and helpless when it is born. Right after birth, it crawls into the mother’s pouch and will remain inside the pouch until it is about 6 months old. Weaning usually occurs between 8 and 12 months. Young Dusky pademelons become reproductively mature and start to breed when they are around 15 months old.
The main threats to the Dusky pademelon include habitat loss and hunting for meat.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Dusky pademelon total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are decreasing.
