Ursine Tree-kangaroo

Open encyclopedia reference

The ursine tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus ursinus) is a long-tailed, furry, bear-like mammal found only in tropical forests on the island of New Guinea (in Indonesia). Slightly larger than a cat, it lives alone in trees and is active at night to feed on leaves and fruit. It belongs to the macropod family (Macropodidae) with kangaroos, and carries its young in a pouch like other marsupials. It has a small range in northwestern New Guinea and is threatened by habitat loss and hunting. Other common names for this species include the black tree-kangaroo, the Vogelkop tree-kangaroo and the white-throated tree-kangaroo.

Wikipedia contributors, Ursine tree-kangaroo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:42:33.106736+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Dendrolagus ursinus (Temminck, 1836)

Name authority

(Temminck, 1836)

Common name

Ursine Tree-kangaroo

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Diprotodontia

Family

Macropodidae

Genus

Dendrolagus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
11. orderDiprotodontia Owen, 1866
12. suborderMacropodiformes Ameghino, 1889
13. familyMacropodidae Gray, 1821
14. subfamilyMacropodinae Gray, 1821
15. genusDendrolagus S. Müller, 1840
16. speciesDendrolagus ursinus (Temminck, 1836)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Dendrolagus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 46 records assigned to Macropodidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552715 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:34QC2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.