Black-striped Wallaby

Scientific name: Notamacropus dorsalis
black-stripped wallaby Click to enlarge image
black-stripped wallaby Image: Cyril Ruoso
© BIOSPHOTO / AUSCAPE

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Notamacropus
    Species
    dorsalis
    Family
    Macropodidae
    Order
    Diprotodontia
    Class
    Mammalia
    Phylum
    Chordata
  • Size Range
    82 cm

Medium-sized grey-brown wallaby, black stripe running from the forehead down the back.

Identification

A medium-sized grey-brown wallaby, paler ventrally, with rufous forequarters and a prominent black dorsal stripe running from the forehead down the back. Nose, forepaws and toes are black. Pale cheek and horizontal hip stripe.

Habitat

Forest and woodland with dense shrub understorey, including rainforest edges, brigalow and vine thickets.

Distribution

Eastern Australia.

Feeding and diet

A shy and generally nocturnal species that spends the day resting in dense vegetation, often in large groups. Emerges in the evening, along well-established pathways, to feed at night on grasses and forbs in more open areas. Males are significantly larger than females.

Breeding behaviours

It breeds throughout the year. A single young is born after about 35 days gestation and attaches to one of four teats in the mother’s pouch, where it spends the next 6-7 months. Sexual maturity is reached at 12-18 months. Distribution is now patchy due to widespread clearing of habitat for agriculture.

Support our research

Help us to protect our vital natural and cultural heritage for generations to come. With your support, our scientists, explorers and educators can continue to do their groundbreaking work.

Make a donation