The Verse - Volume 12
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Purple Particulars - A Purple Kangaroo?

Scientists in Australia say a mysterious purple kangaroo, thought to be a legend, does actually exist.

A biologist named Le Souf claimed to have discovered the species in 1924, but experts ignored his claims. Researchers from Macquarie University in Sydney now say the wallaby does exist and has purple around its neck and on its face.

They have called it the purple-necked rock wallaby and it inhabits the Mt Isa region in Northwest Queensland. The Wallaby secretes a dye that transforms its face and neck into colours ranging from light pink to bright purple. It is not yet known how and why the purple pigment is produced, but it has been found to wash off in rain before reappearing.

They know it comes from a gland, but biological studies have yet to determine whether the gland is unique in this animal and, if it is common, why in this particular animal it is purple, reports Australia's Daily Telegraph.

Annanova News Story

Unusual facts about Austrailia