This species lives primarily in remote areas and has little effect on the lives of most people in Australia. They were used as a food source by early explorers and Aboriginals, but today P. lateralis are not widely hunted. (Pearson 1992)
The number and size of P. lateralis populations has never been accurately determined, but it is now believed that their distribution is diminishing. Reports written by past explorers and Aboriginals have suggested that large groups of P. lateralis once existed in several regions where none are currently observed. There has been some speculation that their decline has been caused by competition from other herbivores, changes in fire patterns since aboriginals have left certain areas, or increased predation by introduced predators such as the fox. (Pearson 1992; Strahan 1995)
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: near threatened
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Petrogale lateralis feeds mainly on grass and herbs. The large forestomach of macropods is well suited for the microbial fermentation of cellulose. Petrogale lateralis does not need to drink much water to survive and sometimes lives in areas where no permanent water source is available. These wallabies seek shelter in caves during the hottest hours of the days to minimize their loss of water. They are most active during early evening when they leave their shelter to feed on plants. (Strahan 1995; Taylor 1984)
Like all rock wallabies,P lateralis has thick and padded hind feet with granulated soles that provide traction on rocky terrain. Also, unlike other macropods, in the rock wallaby the claw of the fourth toe extends barely (if at all) past the large toe pad. Petrogale lateralis has a thick and soft grey-brown coat. Its face is dark and grey with a light stripe on the cheek. The various sub-species of P. lateralis differ in body markings and size. In most sub-species, females are70-85% the weight of males the same age. (Strahan 1995; Jones 1923; Taylor 1984)
Range mass: 3.1 to 7 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Members of this species, like other rock wallabies, live on rock piles, cliffs, and rocky hills. Their highly specialized feet allow them to move swiftly and safely on steep rocky terrain. They camp near caves or cliffs where they can take shelter, and they are often found in very arid areas where water is scarce. (Strahan 1995; Pearson 1992; Taylor 1995)
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; savanna or grassland
Although Petrogale lateralis is often reffered to as the "West Australian Rock Wallaby", its distribution is clearly not confined to this region. P. lateralis populations can be found in northern South Australia, the southern parts of the Northern Territory, as well as Western Australia. (Pearson 1992; Strahan 1995)
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
Very little information is available for P. lateralis; the following account is based primarily on other wallaby species. All rock-wallaby species breed continually. The gestation period and oestrus cycle of Petrogalespecies, are both about 30 days. As with other marsupials, the new born rock wallabies are very undeveloped and suckle inside their mother's pouch. Unlike other kangaroos and wallabies, young rock wallabies that have left the pouch but are not yet weaned are often left in a sheltered area while their mother goes off to feed. This may be because of the treacherous terrain in which the rock wallabies live.
(Strahan 1995; Taylor 1984)
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Average number of offspring: 1.
The black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis), also known as the black-footed rock-wallaby or warru, is a species of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus Petrogale. A shy, nocturnal herbivore, its two main subspecies are found in mostly isolated populations across western and southern Western Australia (WA), the Northern Territory and parts of South Australia (SA). With some subspecies showing a decline in populations in recent years, the whole species is classed as an endangered species under the Commonwealth EPBC Act.
The species, in the genus Petrogale, was first described by John Gould in 1842.[3] Subspecies include:
The specimens obtained at the MacDonnell Ranges, and from the Western Kimberley, are distinct enough to be separate subspecies of the black-flanked rock-wallaby. These populations, and the recognised subspecies, are distinguished by chromosomal as well as morphological distinctions.[5]
Petrogale lateralis purpureicollis (purple-necked rock-wallaby) by Le Souef in 1924 is given in some listings,[6] but this is now regarded as a distinct species.[3]
The black-flanked rock-wallaby is generally greyish-brown with a paler belly and chest, a dark stripe running from its head down its spine, and it has a dark tail and feet.[7] Colours may vary slightly among subspecies. It has short, thick, woolly fur that is particularly dense around the base of the tail, rump and flanks. Its long tail, useful for balancing in rocky terrain, is tipped with a brush.[4]
Because most of its water comes from its diet, it rarely drinks and can conserve water by taking refuge from the heat in rocky caves.[4]
The black-flanked rock-wallaby is a rather shy nocturnal animal, and feeds at night on grasslands that are close to rocky areas for shelter.[4][7]
It lives in groups of 10–100 individuals, and form lifelong pair bonds, although females will mate with other males. They reach sexual maturity at one to two years old, but breeding cycles respond to seasonal rainfall. The species features embryonic diapause, where the embryo's development enters a state of dormancy until environmental conditions are suitable.[4]
The gestation period lasts around 30 days, and like other young marsupials, the young are poorly developed and suckle inside the mother's pouch until they are ready to leave. Unlike other kangaroos and wallabies, mothers leave their young in a sheltered place while they feed.
In Western Australia, the wallaby lives in mountainous areas with granite outcrops, sandstone cliffs, scree slopes, and hummock grasses with a few trees and shrubs, and also near coastal limestone cliffs. P. lateralis lateralis lives across southern and western WA; P. lateralis hacketti lives on three islands of the Recherche Archipelago in southern WA; P. lateralis (western Kimberley race) is found only in the Edgar Range, Erskine Range, possibly the Grant Range and also nearby areas of the west Kimberley); P. lateralis (MacDonnell Ranges race) used to be widespread in central desert regions across the Northern Territory, SA and WA, but there has been a decline in both distribution and abundance.[4]
Predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, habitat damage caused by sheep, goats and rabbits, invasive species, climate change and alteration of fire regimes have caused the population to decline. Several sites where populations occur are protected, and a recovery plan is under way. Fox control has been established at several sites.[1]
Petrogale lateralis lateralis has suffered the worst decline of population, while Petrogale lateralis hacketti and Petrogale lateralis (western Kimberley race) had had no recorded decline in Western Australia by 2012.[4]
The populations in Western Australia are managed by the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, consisting of control of foxes and monitoring.[1]
The state government reported that there were just 50 animals left in the wild in South Australia in 2007.[10] In October 2007, 15 wallabies were moved into an open-range zoo which undertakes breeding programs for endangered species, Monarto Zoo. The animals came from the Pukatja/Ernabella area and another undisclosed location in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Work to monitor the species' survival was said to involve Aboriginal trackers and schoolchildren from Pukatja to help track the wallabies' movements.[11]
Previously widespread throughout the ranges of central Australia, the warru was as of July 2019 South Australia's most endangered mammal, primarily due to predation by foxes and feral cats. However Monarto has had some success in breeding the wallabies, and has helped to establish a viable population (22) of the wallabies in a 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) fenced area, known as the Pintji, in the APY lands. In June 2017 Monarto announced that 25 of the population bred at Pintji, along with 15 others, had been released into the wild. These will be monitored and feral animal control measures are in place.[12]
In August 2021, the federal government's National Indigenous Australians Agency, which had been funding the Warru Kaninytjaku Indigenous ranger program in the APY Lands for 10 years, announced that funding would continue for at least seven more years. The rangers manage two warru populations, in the Musgrave Ranges and Tomkinson Ranges, and have helped to build the numbers up from around 20 to hundreds. With new funding, the program included the Everard Ranges, which is important because multiple populations mean that if one is lost, warru from another population could be re-introduced from one of the others.[13] In August 2022, 25 warru that had been raised in the pintji, along with another 15 taken from a wild population, were released in the Everard Ranges, with tracking devices for monitoring by the rangers. These were the first warru to inhabit the area in around 60 years.[14]
The warru is an important part of the local ecosystem, as its consumption of the native vegetation helps to regenerate it. In addition, it is an important symbol in Anangu mythology.[13]
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Media related to Petrogale lateralis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Petrogale lateralis at WikispeciesThe black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis), also known as the black-footed rock-wallaby or warru, is a species of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus Petrogale. A shy, nocturnal herbivore, its two main subspecies are found in mostly isolated populations across western and southern Western Australia (WA), the Northern Territory and parts of South Australia (SA). With some subspecies showing a decline in populations in recent years, the whole species is classed as an endangered species under the Commonwealth EPBC Act.
