Dingiso

Description

The dingiso ( Dendrolagus mbaiso Flannery,Boeadi and Szalay,1995 ),also known as bondegezou,is a species of arboreal kangaroo native and endemic to Western New Guinea ( Indonesia ).Presents a characteristic white and black fur;the belly is white,while the head,the back and the limbs are black.Unlike other arboreal kangaroos,he spends little time on the trees.It is more common in the western regions of the Irian Jaya,since in those areas it is protected by members of the Moni tribe,who,considering it their ancestor,forbid anyone to hurt him.The specific name,mbaiso,means "forbidden animal" in the moni language.It was first described in 1995 by the zoologist Tim Flannery of the Australian Museum,the Indonesian zoologist Boeadi and the Australian anthropologist Alexandra Szalay.