Red-Necked Wallaby vs Black-Footed Rock Wallaby
Wallabies are amongst the endemic fauna of the unique Australia, and both these wallabies are special in many ways. They both have specialized patterns of geographical distribution, physical features, and ecological preferences those vary between them. Therefore, it would be interesting to understand the differences between Red-necked wallaby and Black-footed rock wallaby as in this article.
Red-Necked Wallaby
Red-Necked Wallaby, Macropus rufogiseus banksianus, is an endemic marsupial macropod of Australia, and it is one of the three subspecies of the particular species. Usually, Red-necked wallabies are medium-sized animals distributed in the far Eastern Australia and Tasmania, especially in the fertile and temperate regions. They weigh between 14 and 18 kilograms, and could have their body length up to 90 centimetres. They have black coloured paws and a nose, which are characteristic for the species. Their coat is grizzled medium grey in colour with a reddish fade across the shoulders. Additionally, the upper lip has a white colour stripe, which is another identification feature of Red-necked wallabies. They prefer to live a solitary life and do not live in communities, unless there is an abundance of food, water, or shelter. They are active in the dusk and rest in vegetation during the daytime more often than not. Unlike other subspecies, Red-necked wallabies can breed throughout the year in wild, but captive ones do maintain a breeding season. This interesting animal usually could live about 7 – 10 years in wild and longer in captivity.
Black-Footed Rock Wallaby
Black-Footed Rock Wallaby, Petrogale laterais, is a very cautious marsupial with a restricted distribution in the Australian mainland. There are three subspecies with two races, and all are listed by the Australian government as threatened. They are small animals weighing only five kilograms maximum with about 60 centimetres long body. They are also known as Black-flanked rock wallaby as they have a dark brown to black coloured stripe that runs laterally on their bodies. Their coat is woolly and thick, and dark grey-brown in colour, and there is a characteristic white stripe on the cheeks. The prominent black tip is important to notice in these animals. They have adapted to prevent from being slipped away from rocks while hopping between those, as the soles of feet are well textured. They live in small to large sized groups (10 -100 individuals in one), and forage at night. These threatened animals could however live up to 15 years in wild, and more in captivity.
|
What is the difference between Red-Necked Wallaby and Black-Footed Rock Wallaby? · The Red-necked is larger and heavier as twice as the Black-footed. · Both have three subspecies, but the distribution is different. Rend-necked wallaby has a continuous distribution range in the fertile and temperate areas of the far Eastern areas of the Australian mainland as well as in Tasmania. However, the Black-footed wallaby has small patches of distribution in the Central and Western parts of the Australian mainland only. · Usually, the Black-footed can live more than the Red-necked can in wild. · The habitat of Black-footed rock wallaby is rocks as the name indicates, but Red-necked wallaby lives in fertile ad temperate vegetation. · Both have very distinctive features and colourations, but Black-footed rock wallaby has characteristic black and white stripes on their body, whereas Red-necked wallaby do not have stripes except one small white stripe on the upper lip.
|