[a][5] Gould obtained his specimens while in Australia, returning these to England for scientific examination; he gave the animal the common name bridled kangaroo.

[6] These small wallabies are named for two distinguishing characteristics: a white "bridle" line that runs down from the back of the neck around the shoulders, and a horny spur on the end of the tail.

[citation needed] The bridled nail-tail wallaby's defence behaviour when threatened by native predators is usually to lie flat on the ground and find some cover.

[11] At the time of European settlement of Australia, bridled nail-tail wallabies were common all along the East Australian coastline region to the west of the Great Dividing Range.

Naturalists in the 19th century reported that the species ranged from the Murray River region of Victoria through central New South Wales to Charters Towers in Queensland.

After reading an article in a magazine about Australia's extinct species, a fencing contractor reported that there was an extant population on a property near Dingo, Queensland.

Other threats include wildfires, prolonged drought, habitat destruction by the pastoral industry and competition for food from grazers, such as rabbits and domestic sheep.

[4] After the last captive-breeding facility in Queensland failed, the remaining animals were transferred to Avocet Nature Refuge (south of Emerald), with the total population there and at Taunton estimated at around 600.

[18] As of 2019, the species was confined to three populations: Taunton and Avocet in Queensland, and Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Scotia Sanctuary in New South Wales, where there were more than 1,000 wallabies in 2018.