Dingiso[1] | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Diprotodontia |
Family: | Macropodidae |
Genus: | Dendrolagus |
Species: | D. mbaiso
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Binomial name | |
Dendrolagus mbaiso | |
Dingiso range |
The dingiso (/dɪŋˈɡiːzoʊ/) (Dendrolagus mbaiso), also known as the bondegezou or bakaga, is an endangered, long-tailed marsupial found only in mountain forests on the west of the island of New Guinea (in Indonesia). It is a species of tree-kangaroo (genus Dendrolagus), which are mammals native to Australia and New Guinea that feed on leaves or other plant matter. It belongs to the macropodid family (Macropodidae) with kangaroos, and carries its young in a pouch like most other marsupials. Though sacred to the local Moni people, it is still threatened by hunting and habitat loss.[2]
Dr Tim Flannery and his team gave the species name mbaiso which means "the forbidden animal" in Moni, because of the local belief that dingiso is the spirit of their ancestors. Locally Dingiso is called Bakaga.[3]