#ulea

Lowlands tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus spadix) Also known as: Lowland tree-kangaroo, ulea

The lowland tree-kangaroo is found in primary rainforest of lowland swamps in the Gulf and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea. The lowland tree-kangaroo is reddish-brown in colour with the stomach region being paler than the back. A live specimen kept in the Port Moresby Botanical Gardens in 2001 was a uniform dark red in colour, lightly furred and somewhat similar in shape to Goodfellow’s tree-kangaroo. It is hunted for food locally, however, this is not considered a major threat to this species as there is a low human population density in the area, which is largely related to the region’s inhospitable limestone topography. Deforestation due to logging is a threat in places (three quarters of the range is now a logging concession, but the dry karst country is largely inaccessible). There are ongoing proposals to put in oil palm plantations. There is also drilling for oil in one place.

Classification Animalia - Chordata - Mammalia - Metatheria - Marsupialia - Australidelphia - Diprotodontia - Macropodiformes - Macropodoidea - Macropodidae - Macropodinae - Dendrolagus - D. spadix