Notes on the Small Black Wallaroo Macropus bernardus 

 (Rothschild, 1904] of Arnhem Land. 



by S. A. VMiKfcit* 



tmrodiiiuon 



urIl ii l >7<): IW) wntos l,f ,h,s 

 lillle-kuown species: 



•■ . |,..M collected in I ^22 when 

 Ihree specimens were obtained by 

 Mrs. Pi CahiU .11 Oenpclli &rt Uic 



National Museum of Victoria. 



Earlier, fa t3J8i Mr CumM i"' rL '- 

 tentWl five specimens to "Iaronga 

 Park /-on. Previously it had been 

 collected in Arnhem l and by J 

 1 lunncv in |9tP and K. n..hl 



I he following observations arc 

 Limtnar) to the treatment Of this 

 a forthcoming check fel pi 

 native land-mammals of the 

 Northern Teiritory (Parker. in 

 press). 



hi.Uliwnk sunm 



Fnlh & Caluhy (J WW- 32) write. 

 n M. hatwnhts is sympalric with A/. 

 imillopimix tAntilopinc Wallarool 

 over probably all of Ihe former's 

 aflgft, hut its relationship with nearbv 

 if, ntlniMus !Kuro| has not been 

 satisfactorily cleared up. M. robin- 

 lui is known to occur in the South 

 Mligator River area near the range 

 ..f temar&u and collections and 

 observations should be made in the 

 citical area to determine the possi- 

 hi'i ics of overlap 01 inter-breeding*'. 



Our.ns September-October IVHW. 

 ft. I, Bolton. O Howe and I under 

 M0k five week liiun.il survey of the 

 uaJ-itone iscaipineiil country of the 

 Deat A.Wei I reck valley M m.lcs 

 due 1011th of CVnpellt Here we ob 



"Vll'l /.•!>. Hrwt.rel. tiHIItllli' WlW Spiloiw, 



n 1 fm 



February, 1971 



served and collected both Xf. b?>- 

 nardtii and Vf. r$>Uptux in the same 

 rocky areas; on one occasion a 

 lemale of each with pouch-young 

 was obtained on the same hillside 

 within a tew minutes. Wilkins (IMZX: 

 IbSl observed hcrmmiux in sand- 

 stone lunges fifteen miles up the King 

 River north-east of Oenpelli in 

 I 1 / 24: he collected a specimen of 

 robtisim in this area (BMNH 

 20.3.1 I M) and another further east 

 on the uppet Cioydcr River (BMNII 

 2f>.3.l I.6K) tsee Map 1). This evi- 

 dence of syinpatry, together with 

 the clear and constant morphological 

 differences between her nonius and 

 mbuslux (see Table I). justifies Ihe 

 recognition of hmuirdus as a separate 

 species. 



r i< /</ obwmitinn.v 



Although Mi hi'itidtdiiv has heen 

 found so fur only in Ihe escarpment 

 country of western and north- 

 western Arnhem 1 and. it is by no 

 i::cans rare there In the- sandstone 

 gorges of Deaf Adder Creek valley 

 we encountered this small, blackish, 

 thickset wallaroo several limes, al 

 wavs on boulder -strewn hillsides, 

 singly and in pairs (once m a group 

 of three). In the daytime it was 

 wary, hut a female ( N 1 M 474«) 

 located by cyeshme at night allowed 

 a close approach. Our observations 

 were too limited to detect aiiv eco- 

 logical differences between ih.s 

 species and M. rohuxiitx. which 

 occurred m the same rocky habitat. 

 In the same area M- .tiuHo/niiis was 

 iccorded only on the flat valley lloor. 



In the National Museum of Vic- 

 toria Ihtjre is a note from Mrs. Mane 



41 



