D. atrata Skull Replica or Black Forest Wallaby Skull measures 3.2 in. Black Forest Wallaby Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. Cast from a private collection.
The D. atrata or Black forest wallaby (Dorcopsis atrata) is a species of marsupial in the family Macropodidae.
It is endemic to an island at the eastern end of New Guinea where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
It is threatened by habitat loss and hunting, its population is declining and the IUCN lists it as being “Critically endangered”.
D. atrata or Black forest wallaby has black upper parts and dark brown underparts.
It has a long muzzle, a naked snout, small rounded ears and a tail which lacks hair on its hind half.
It’s fore limbs are robust but its hind limbs and feet are relatively small. Adults reach a length of between 29 and 39 inches with a tail of 11 to 16 inches and weigh around 4.4 lb.
The D. atrata or Black forest wallaby is believed to be mainly nocturnal but may move around during the day in dense forest.
It feeds on shoots, leaves, grasses, fruit and roots which it gathers with its mouth and manipulates with its fore paws.
A young Black forest wallaby develops in its mother’s pouch. There are four nipples in the pouch despite the fact that there is normally only a single juvenile developing there at any one time.
It is known from a single location, Goodenough Island at the eastern end of Papua New Guinea where it has a total extent of occurrence of less than 39 sq miles.
It spends most of the year in oak forests at altitudes of between 3,300 and 5,900 ft. where there is little undergrowth but the ground is carpeted with mosses, lichens and ferns.
It descends seasonally to gullies and lower ground at which time it is vulnerable to being hunted. The Montane forest is being degraded using slash and burn techniques and is eventually being converted into grassland.
Although the Black Forest wallaby is common in suitable habitat, the overall population is declining and the IUCN lists its conservation status as being “Critically endangered”.
