Purple-necked rock-wallaby
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SPECIES
Petrogale purpureicollis

The purple-necked rock-wallaby (Petrogale purpureicollis ) is a species of rock-wallaby first described in 1924 by Albert Sherbourne Le Souef, then director of the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, who noted a purple colouration around the neck and cranial features that distinguish it from other rock-wallaby species.

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The purple colouration was thought by some sceptical scientists to be due to the animal rubbing against a dye, but the animal does in fact secrete a purple pigment. The pigment is known to wash off in the rain and fade away after death, causing some possible confusion with other rock-wallaby species.

The species has undergone taxonomic upheaval for decades and has variously been classified as an unadorned rock-wallaby, brush-tailed rock-wallaby, and black-flanked rock-wallaby. Le Souef and others have asserted that it was a new species, and this has been affirmed by a 2001 paper in the Australian Journal of Zoology.

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Distribution

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Purple-necked rock-wallaby habitat map
Purple-necked rock-wallaby habitat map
Purple-necked rock-wallaby
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Habits and Lifestyle

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Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

References

1. Purple-necked rock-wallaby Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple-necked_rock-wallaby
2. Purple-necked rock-wallaby on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/136463/21955566

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