View source for Biology:Toolache wallaby

{{Short description|Extinct species of marsupial}}
{{Speciesbox
| name           = Toolache wallaby<ref name="msw3DUP" />
| image          = Macropus greyi - Gould.jpg
| image_caption  = nineteenth century illustration of male and female
| status         = EX
| extinct        = ca. 1939
| status_system  = IUCN3.1
| status_ref     = <ref name="iucn" />
| genus          = Notamacropus
| species        = greyi
| authority      = (Waterhouse, 1846)<ref name="Waterhouse1846"/>
| synonyms = *''Macropus greyi''
}}

The '''toolache wallaby''' or '''Grey's wallaby'''  ('''''Notamacropus greyi''''') is an extinct species of [[Biology:Wallaby|wallaby]] from southeastern South Australia and southwestern Victoria.

== Taxonomy ==
A species described by George Waterhouse in 1846. The type specimen was collected at Coorong in South Australia.<ref name="MSW3" />
The author cites an earlier name, ''Halmaturus greyii'', published by John Edward Gray in 1843 without a valid description, assigning it to a subgenus of the same name—''Macropus'' (''Halmaturus'')—and providing the common name of the newly described species as Grey's wallaby.<ref name="Green2001" /><ref name="Smith1983" /> The common name and epithet ''greyi'' commemorates the collector and explorer George Grey, who provided the two specimens to researchers at the British Museum of Natural History.<ref name="Waterhouse1846" />
A systematic revision has seen the species placed in a subgeneric arrangement as ''Macropus'' (''Notamacropus'') ''greyi'', recognising an affinity with eight other species of the subgenus named as ''[[Biology:Notamacropus|Notamacropus]]'' Dawson and Flannery, 1985.<ref>{{MSW3 Diprotodontia|id=11000241}}</ref>
An arrangement that elevates the subgenera of ''Macropus'' is recognised as ''Notamacropus greyi''.<ref name="Jackson2015">{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=S. |last2=Groves |first2=C. |title=Systematics and taxonomy of Australian mammals |date=2015 |isbn=9781486300136 |page=158 |publisher=Csiro |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPznCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA158 |language=en}}</ref> A genetic analysis found that its closest relative is the [[Biology:Western brush wallaby|western brush wallaby]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Celik|first1=Mélina|last2=Cascini|first2=Manuela|last3=Haouchar|first3=Dalal|last4=Van Der Burg|first4=Chloe|last5=Dodt|first5=William|last6=Evans|first6=Alistair R|last7=Prentis|first7=Peter|last8=Bunce|first8=Michael|last9=Fruciano|first9=Carmelo|last10=Phillips|first10=Matthew J|date=2019-06-25|title=A molecular and morphometric assessment of the systematics of the Macropus complex clarifies the tempo and mode of kangaroo evolution|url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/186/3/793/5421215|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|language=en|volume=186|issue=3|pages=793–812|doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz005|issn=0024-4082}}</ref>

The common names have also included ''monkeyface'' and ''onetwo''.<ref name="Smith1983" /> The name Toolache may come from the Ngarrindjeri  word ''rtulatji''.<ref name="gale_and_sparrow">{{cite web |title=Bringing the Language home: the Ngarrindjeri dictionary project|url=https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/6922/RAL-chapter-32.pdf |website=Sydney eScholarship Repository |publisher=Sydney University Press |date=2010| access-date=19 Aug 2023|language=en}}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Macropus greyi Gould.jpg|upright|thumb|Illustration of the upper body by Henry Richter in John Gould's ''Mammals of Australia'' (1863)]]
The toolache wallaby was a slim, graceful, and elegant creature that had a pale ashy-brown pelt with a buff-yellow underbelly.<ref name="Smith1983" /><ref name="Menkhorst2011" />
The tail was pale grey and became almost white near the tip. The distinct black mark on its face reached from its nose to the eye. The forearms, feet, and tips of the ears were also black. The different colours of the animal also consisted of different textured furs which are believed to have changed seasonally or varied depending on the individual. The body measurements differed between males and females. In general, male toolache wallabies had a head and body length up to 810&nbsp;mm while females measured up as 840&nbsp;mm. Despite the females being taller, males had longer tail lengths at about 730&nbsp;mm while the female's tail length was 710&nbsp;mm.<ref name="SPRAT">{{cite web |title=''Notamacropus greyi'' — Toolache Wallaby |url=https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=232 |website=Species Profile and Threats Database |publisher=Department of the Environment |access-date=3 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

== Behaviour ==
The toolache wallaby was a nocturnal animal, foraging for vegetation during the twilight hours of the day.<ref name="Menkhorst2011" /> Their movements were unusual and extremely rapid, able to outpace almost any terrestrial predator; they were known to evade the fastest dogs of the colonial hunters.<ref name="Smith1983" />

== Habitat == 
The toolache wallaby occupied the southeastern corner of Australia to the western part of Victoria. The preferred habitat ranged from swampy short grassland areas, to taller grassed areas of the open country. Toolache wallabies were known to be sociable creatures who lived in groups; they were often seen resting and grazing in groups.<ref name="SPRAT" />

== Threats ==
A combination of numerous threats caused the decline and eventual extinction of the toolache wallaby. One of the largest factors was the destruction of its habitat. Since swamps were an important part of its habitat, once they were cleared out, much of the vegetation went with it. Besides the destruction of its habitat, the introduction of predators, such as the European [[Biology:Red fox|red fox]], began to kill off the species as well. Additionally, the animal was also hunted for sport and for its pelt.<ref name="SPRAT" />

== Extinction ==
The toolache wallaby only survived 85 years after European occupation. In the 1920s, a conservation effort was made to try and bring the animal back from the brink of extinction. The plan was to capture and breed the last known surviving members of the species in captivity. This effort ended in disaster after 10 of the 14 of them were accidentally killed in the attempt to capture them. The remaining four survived in captivity.

The last wild sightings were recorded in 1924, and the last known toolache wallaby survived in captivity until 1939.<ref name="iucn" /> The species is presumed to be extinct, although extensive research is still being conducted in the region after reports of suspected sightings through the 1970s. However, no members of the species have been sighted since.

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Green2001">{{cite book|last=Green|first=Tamara|title=Extinctosaurus: Encyclopedia of Lost and Endangered Species|year=2001|publisher=Brimax|pages=148 |isbn=9781858543352 |oclc=48178728}}</ref>
<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn|author=Burbidge, A.A. |author2= Woinarski, J. |name-list-style=amp |year= 2016 |errata= 2018 |title=''Notamacropus greyi'' |page= e.T12625A128952836 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T12625A21953169.en|access-date=24 April 2023}}</ref>
<ref name="Menkhorst2011">{{cite book |last1=Menkhorst |first1=P.W. |last2=Knight |first2=F. |author2link=Frank Knight |title=A field guide to the mammals of Australia |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195573954 |page=114|edition=3rd}}</ref>
<ref name="MSW3">{{MSW3 Diprotodontia|id= 11000259}}</ref>
<ref name="msw3DUP">{{MSW3 Groves|pges=64-65}}</ref>
<ref name="Smith1983">{{cite encyclopedia |last = Smith |first = M.J. |editor-last = Strahan |editor-first = R. |title = Complete book of Australian mammals. The national photographic index of Australian wildlife |chapter = Toolache Wallaby |year = 1983 |publisher = Angus & Robertson |isbn = 0207144540 |pages = 234}}</ref>
<ref name="Waterhouse1846">{{cite book |last1=Waterhouse |first1=G. R. |title=A Natural History of the Mammalia |date=1846 |publisher=H. Baillière |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/anaturalhistory02wategoog/page/n133 122] |url=https://archive.org/details/anaturalhistory02wategoog |language=English}}</ref>
}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last1=Flannery |first1=T. |first2=P. |last2=Schouten |title=A Gap in Nature |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |date=2001 |page=152 |isbn=0-87113-797-6}}
{{refend}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q109262320|from2=Q209153}}

[[Category:Macropods]]
[[Category:Species made extinct by human activities]]

{{Sourceattribution|Toolache wallaby}}