A new species of rock wallaby, Petrogale persephone (Marsupialia: Macropodidae), from Proserpine, central Queensland.

Abstract

A new species of rock wallaby, Petrogale persephone, is described from Proserpine, central Queensland. It is distinguished from all known species of rock wallabies by the following combination of characters: absence of distinctive pelage markings except the dark axillary patch and light facial stripe ; ears uniform brownish orange; dorsal surface of body uniformly brown or light platinum; large premolar; ectotympanic ring incomplete or nearly so, not fused to posterior end of zygomatic arch (squamosal); small median pterygoid process arising from lingual flank of pterygoid while lateral pterygoid process is low flattened remnant arising from ventral end of pterygoid next to palatine. The new species appears to be rare and may be endangered as it is known from only two localities near Proserpine where it may be sympatric with Petrogale inornata Gould, 1842.