Notamacropus greyi Waterhouse, 1845:122
Toolache wallaby, Grey's wallaby, Captain Grey's kangaroo (Gray, 1843:90), Monkeyface (archaic), Onetwo (archaic)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Macropus (Halmaturus) greyi Gray, 1843:90 [nomen nudum]; Macropus (Halmaturus) greyi Waterhouse, 1845:122 (basionym); Halmaturus greyi (Waterhouse, 1845:122); Wallabia greyi (Waterhouse, 1845:122); Notamacropus greyii (Waterhouse, 1845:122) [orth. error used by Burbidge (2024)]
Conservation Status
Extinct (Burbidge, 2024)
Last record (wild): 1927 (Dickman, 2007:228; Fisher & Blomberg, 2012); 1943 (unconfirmed record; Flannery et al., 1990:65-66); early 1970's (reliable reports) (Smith & Robinson, 2023:366)
Last record (captivity): 30 June 1939 (Robinson & Young, 1983; Smith & Robinson, 2023:366); 10 July 1939?
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
Because it was such a beautiful species, it was extensively hunted for its fur. The last known wild mob lived on Konetta Station, South Australia in 1924 (Finlayson, 1927). And the last known individual of this species was a captive specimen which died at Robe, twenty-six miles north-west of Konetta, in 1939. However, claims of more recent survival exist right up until the early 1970's (Smith & Robinson, 2008).
Distribution
South Australia (southeastern) & Victoria, Australia
Type locality: Coorong, South Australia (Calaby & Richardson, 1988:68)
Anatomy & Morphology
Body mass: 13kg (Johnson & Prideaux, 2004:557) or 15,000gm (Johnson, 2006:169).
Biology & Ecology
The Western brush wallaby (Macropus irma) is the closest living relative of the Toolache wallaby (Cardillo et al., 2004; Celik et al., 2019) and shares the same characteristic black hands and feet, giving it its other common name of Black-gloved wallaby.
"Ecology: temperate, gregarious, terrestrial, folivore, tussock grassland"
(Calaby & Richardson, 1988:68)
Hypodigm
Lectotype: BMNH 43.1.4.42 (designated by Thomas, 1922:128) / BMNH 46.3.17.13 (skull) (adult male) (Calaby & Richardson, 1988:68)
Other specimens:
MCM D209 (Fisher, 1984:209)
MCM D209a (Fisher, 1984:209)
Media
There exists footage of the last captive animal, a female, which has been published as a VHS videotape (Cotton, 1970?) (see here). Stills from this film were utilised by (Robinson & Young, 1983).
Source: Gould, John. (1863). Mammals of Australia. London. [image available here]
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Above: captive Toolache wallaby facing slightly right. Photo by Hedley Herbet Finlayson. Published in (Finlayson, 1927).
Above: Toolache wallaby looking at camera from the side. Photo by Hedley Herbet Finlayson. Published in (Finlayson, 1927). Source: https://theconversation.com/the-book-that-changed-me-how-h-h-finlaysons-the-red-centre-helped-me-see-country-and-what-we-have-done-to-it-177151
Above: Toolache wallaby bounding along. Photo by Hedley Herbet Finlayson. Published in (Finlayson, 1927).
Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/85DknSstwn8/maxresdefault.jpg
Above: a photo of the last known individual, a captive female at Robe, SA. Possibly photographed by B.C. Cotton. Source: Robinson & Young, 1983.
Above: a photo of the last known individual, a captive female at Robe, SA. Photographed by B.C. Cotton. Source: Smith & Robinson, 2023:365.
References
Original scientific description:
Waterhouse, G. R. (1845). A Natural History of the Mammalia. Volume 1, containing the Order Marsupiata or pouched animals. London: Baillière. 553 pp + 20 pls.
Other references:
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Cotton, B. C. (1970?). The South Australian toolach wallaby (Macropus greyi) [videorecording]. Published by the Royal Society of South Australia, Field Naturalists' Section.
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http://www.petermaas.nl/extinct/community/ebooks/Lydekker1896/handbooktomarsup00lydekk.pdf
ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/reposit/2007/2007016.pdf
https://archive.org/stream/MemoirsQueensla28Quee#page/364/mode/2up
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/6298/macropus-greyi-toolache-wallaby