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title: "What the sources say about the Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "36 claims from the Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby (*Petrogale xanthopus*)

> 36 claims from the Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Yellow-Footed Rock-Wallaby](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/yellow-footed-rock-wallaby/)

## Petrogale xanthopus (yellow-footed rock wallaby). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Petrogale_xanthopus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| leaps up to four metres from rock to rock | Locomotion occurs by jumping from rock to rock. Leaps can measure up to four meters in length. (note: tagline) |
| short-clawed, thickly padded hind feet | They have large hind feet that are 120 to 170 mm long and are marked with short claws and thick, course pads. (note: tagline; 'course' is ADW's spelling of 'coarse') |
| Isolated rocky outcrops, cliffs and ridges of semi-arid South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland | they are found in the states of South Australia (Flinders and Gawler Ranges and the Olary Hills), New South Wales (Gap and Coturaundee Ranges), and Queensland (Adavale Range) ... This habitat restricts the species to isolated pockets of rocky outcrops, cliffs, and ridges in semi-arid country (note: stats.habitat) |
| Mostly grasses in the wet season, shifting to fallen leaves of shrubs and trees, the staple in drought | In the wet season, their diet predominantly consists of grasses. As conditions become increasingly dry, the species becomes more dependent on the leaf fall of shrubs and trees. In drought, this leaf fall becomes the staple (note: stats.diet) |
| Leaps of up to four metres from rock to rock on short-clawed, thickly padded hind feet | They have large hind feet that are 120 to 170 mm long and are marked with short claws and thick, course pads ... Locomotion occurs by jumping from rock to rock. Leaps can measure up to four meters in length. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Given good food and conditions, yes. A female ovulates, mates and conceives again within a day of giving birth, so it is common for one to be pregnant on nearly every day of the year. | Given good nutrition and living conditions, Petrogale xanthopus breed all year long. In fact, females ovulate, mate, and conceive within a day of giving birth, making it very common for them to be pregnant 365 days a year. (note: faq 1; 'so it is common' paraphrases 'making it very common') |
| Gestation runs 30 to 32 days, and the joey then spends 189 to 227 days developing in the pouch. | they have a gestation period of 30 to 32 days ... Pouch life then lasts anywhere from 189 to 227 days. (note: faq 1; consistent with sprat-xanthopus's captive means, gestation 31.8 days and pouch life 194.9 days) |
| is a stocky, medium-sized wallaby with a head and body 48 to 65 centimetres long and a tail of up to 70 centimetres | Petrogale xanthopus are medium-sized wallabies with a stocky build. Their head and body length can range anywhere from 480 to 650 mm ... and their long, un-tapered tails from 570 to 700 mm (note: 480-650 mm -> 48-65 cm, 700 mm -> 70 cm; sprat-xanthopus agrees on the maxima ('grows to 65 cm', tail 'grows to 70 cm long')) |
| It weighs up to 11 kilograms, and females are slightly smaller than males. | They weigh from 6 to 11 kg ... They are also slightly smaller than males. (note: ADW's lower bound is dropped because its own data box gives 'Range mass 2 to 9 kg'; the 11 kg maximum matches sprat-xanthopus, 'can weigh up to 11 kg') |
| Its large hind feet, 12 to 17 centimetres long, carry short claws and thick, coarse pads. | They have large hind feet that are 120 to 170 mm long and are marked with short claws and thick, course pads. (note: 120-170 mm -> 12-17 cm) |
| It gets around by jumping from rock to rock, with leaps of up to four metres, and can even climb steep cliff faces and tree trunks. | Locomotion occurs by jumping from rock to rock. Leaps can measure up to four meters in length. P. xanthopus even have the ability to climb up steep cliff faces and tree trunks |
| Its range is discontinuous, restricted to isolated rocky outcrops, cliffs and ridges in semi-arid country | Petrogale xanthopus have a discontinuous range throughout Australia ... This habitat restricts the species to isolated pockets of rocky outcrops, cliffs, and ridges in semi-arid country |
| the Flinders and Gawler Ranges and the Olary Hills in South Australia, the Gap and Coturaundee Ranges in New South Wales | they are found in the states of South Australia (Flinders and Gawler Ranges and the Olary Hills), New South Wales (Gap and Coturaundee Ranges) (note: the current sprat-xanthopus page lists the same SA ranges and the Gap and Cotauraundee Ranges in NSW) |
| Over ten percent of its body weight in water, drunk in about seven minutes, lets a yellow-footed rock-wallaby use the region's infrequent summer rainstorms instead of the salty creek runoff that other species there rely on. | yellow-footed rock wallabies also have the unique ability to consume over ten percent of their body weight in water in about seven minutes. This allows them to utilize the infrequent summer rainstorms that occur in the region as opposed to the salty creek runoff that other species in the area rely on (note: blockquote) |
| Diet follows the seasons: mostly grasses in the wet, then more of the fallen leaves of shrubs and trees as conditions dry, until that leaf fall becomes the staple in drought. | In the wet season, their diet predominantly consists of grasses. As conditions become increasingly dry, the species becomes more dependent on the leaf fall of shrubs and trees. In drought, this leaf fall becomes the staple |
| It shelters in rock crevices and caves. | spending their days hidden in rock crevices and caves (note: ADW's 'thought to be nocturnal' is superseded by sprat-xanthopus's seasonal pattern, stated in the next sentence) |
| jumps from rock to rock in leaps of up to four metres on short-clawed, thickly padded hind feet | They have large hind feet that are 120 to 170 mm long and are marked with short claws and thick, course pads ... Locomotion occurs by jumping from rock to rock. Leaps can measure up to four meters in length. (note: vibe.reason, settled in #826) |

## Petrogale xanthopus xanthopus - Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (SA and NSW). Species Profile and Threats Database, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=66646

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Ring-tailed | Common names: Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, Ring-tailed Rock-wallaby (note: tagline; the tail's bars are claimed in the body) |
| Yes, heavily. It was hunted intensively by fur traders, and hundreds of skins were once exported from Adelaide to London each year. | The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby was subject to intensive hunting by fur traders in the past (AWC 2007a). ... Hundreds of skins from this species were exported annually from Adelaide to London late last century. (note: faq 3; 'once' stands for 'late last century', whose century is unclear on a page quoting a 1998 source) |
| That hunting significantly reduced numbers in some areas, especially the Flinders Ranges. | This period of intense hunting led to significant reduction in numbers in some areas, particularly the Flinders Ranges (note: faq 3) |
| Grazing by stock and feral herbivores, and timber cutting for mining and fencing, also altered its habitat. | considerable alteration to vegetation throughout the species' range due to grazing and browsing by domestic stock and feral herbivores, as well as the removal of timber for the mining industry and fencing (note: faq 3) |
| The tail is orange-brown with brown bars. | It has an orange-brown tail with horizontal brown bars or stripes |
| At least 24 South Australian colonies are known to have died out. | At least 24 colonies are known to have become extinct in South Australia. |
| Fur hunting once thinned numbers in some areas, and predation by foxes and feral cats, along with competition from rabbits, sheep and goats, remain considerable threats. | Hundreds of skins from this species were exported annually from Adelaide to London late last century. This period of intense hunting led to significant reduction in numbers in some areas ... Predation by feral cats and foxes is a considerable threat, as is competition from introduced herbivores, primarily rabbits, sheep and goats |
| In summer, when daytime temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius, it is strictly nocturnal, but in winter it moves around by day and by night. | During summer, when daytime temperatures can reach up to 40°C, this species is strictly nocturnal, but it moves around by day and by night during winter |
| During a moderate drought there in 1982 and 1983, numbers fell by 60 percent, and afterwards they recovered only where goats were controlled. | During a moderate drought in NSW in 1982-83, numbers of Yellow-footed Rock-wallabies dropped by 60%. After the drought, numbers recovered in areas where goats were controlled, but numbers remained depressed in areas with no goat control (note: 'there' is New South Wales, from the previous sentence; the source writes the years as '1982-83'; 'only' restates 'remained depressed in areas with no goat control') |
| A yellow-footed rock-wallaby can potentially live for at least ten years, although wallabies trapped at Middle Gorge in South Australia had a life expectancy of three to six years, with a mortality of 90 percent among animals over six. | Longevity of the species for both males and females is potentially at least 10 years (Robinson et al. 1994), although trapped animals in Middle Gorge, South Australia, had a life expectancy of three to six years, with a mortality of 90% for animals over six years old |
| South Australian numbers fluctuate, apparently with the impact of feral goats and fox predation: aerial surveys of Flinders Ranges National Park and the Blinman area counted more than 1,500 in 2003 but about 680 in 2005. | In South Australia, population estimates indicate fluctuations in numbers, apparently associated with impacts from feral herbivores, particularly goats, and predation by foxes. ... The Flinders Ranges National Park and Blinman area recorded a population high of more than 1500 animals in 2003, but only approximately 680 animals in 2005. ... These counts are based on aerial winter surveys conducted annually |

## Petrogale xanthopus celeris (yellow-footed rock-wallaby (central-western Queensland)): Conservation Advice. Threatened Species Scientific Committee, Australian Government Department of the Environment, 2016.

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/87608-conservation-advice-05052016.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| and the rocky ranges of central-western Queensland | has a restricted distribution in the rocky ranges of central-western Queensland (note: replaces ADW's 'Adavale Range'; the 2016 advice places the sites north and north-west of Adavale) |
| In Queensland, a colony holds from about ten wallabies to more than a hundred, and may contain several groups, each typically made up of one older male, several females and several younger males. | It lives in colonies ranging in size from about 10 individuals to over 100 individuals (Sharp 1997), in which several groups may be present. Each group typically contains a single older male, several females and several younger males. (note: 'It' is P. x. celeris, the Queensland subspecies, so the sentence is scoped to Queensland) |
| In Queensland, acacia bushes are an important food through dry periods, and one study found a high dietary overlap with feral goats that limited the wallabies' access to them. | Allen (2001) measured high dietary overlap with feral goats, which limited rock-wallabies' access to Acacia bushes which are an important sustaining food during dry periods. |

## Copley, Ellis & Weenen (2016). Petrogale xanthopus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T16750A21955455.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-2.rlts.t16750a21955455.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Near Threatened | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). (note: stats.conservationStatus, read through GBIF's copy of the Red List per docs/fact-check.md; the assessment DOI resolves to the 2016 Red List volume, assessed 2015) |
| The IUCN Red List's most recent assessment lists the species as Near Threatened. | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). (note: assessed 2015, published 2016; source:prefetch found it as the latest Red List assessment for the species) |

## Pope, Sharp & Moritz (1996). Population structure of the yellow-footed rock-wallaby Petrogale xanthopus (Gray, 1854) inferred from mtDNA sequences and microsatellite loci. Molecular Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.1996.tb00358.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A 1996 genetic study found South Australian and Queensland populations had distinct mitochondrial DNA, supporting their classification as separate subspecies. | Populations from South Australia and Queensland had phylogenetically distinct mtDNA, supporting the present classification of these two groups as evolutionarily distinct entities. (note: faq 2; the abstract's methods sentence names the two groups as P. x. celeris (Queensland) and P. x. xanthopus (South Australia); 1996 is the paper's year) |
| Within Queensland, populations separated by 70 kilometres of unsuitable habitat also differed genetically, and the authors suggested managing each colony as an independent unit. | Within Queensland, populations separated by 70 km of unsuitable habitat differed significantly for mtDNA and at microsatellite loci ... we suggest that management of yellow-footed rock-wallabies should treat each colony as an independent unit (note: faq 2) |

## Wilson, Gerritsen & Milthorpe (1976). The Yellow-footed Rock-Wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus (Macropodidae). Wildlife Research.

https://doi.org/10.1071/wr9760073

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In New South Wales, the temperature and relative humidity inside one of its caves differed from outside by 11 degrees Celsius and 21 percent. | In New South Wales P. xanthopus is limited to an area of 70 by 10 km ... The temperature and relative humidity differed by 11°C and 21 % between the outside and the inside of one cave. (note: the abstract does not say which side was cooler or more humid, so no direction is asserted) |