Breen (2007 p.c.) suspects that this is in a dialectal relationship with Wangkumara L68.
Note that Bowern (2001) suspects that the language termed Wankumara (Galali) D71 in McDonald and Wurm (1979) is a description of neither Wangkumara L68 nor Garlali D30 but Punthamara.
Breen (1971:18) says that Palpakunu L64 is a Jandruwanda L18 term for the 'Wilson River group of dialects, i.e. Mambangura L20, modern Wangkumara L68 and Kungatutji L16, Punthamara and others now extinct'. Breen (1967:2) also states that the languages (though he goes on to refer to them as tribes) spoken along the Wilson River are identical: Bundhamara (L26), Gungadudji L16, Wanggumara L68 and Ngandangura L30.
Mary Laughren said Lists 50 (Cooper's Creek, near the Booloo River) and 51 (Nockatoonga, Wilson River) in Curr are also Punthamara if compared with Holmer 1988. A distinguishing word is ngaka 'water' (p.c. June 2020).
On creeks running east of Grey Range from Orient and Thargomindah north to near Quilpie; at Tobermory; on the west side of Grey Range only to Mount Margaret and Congie (Tindale 1974).
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Speaker numbers were measured differently across the censuses and various other sources listed in AUSTLANG. You are encouraged to refer to the sources.
Speaker numbers for ‘NILS 2004’ and ‘2005 estimate’ come from 'Table F.3: Numbers of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages (various surveys)' in 'Appendix F NILS endangerment and absolute number results' in McConvell, Marmion and McNicol 2005, pages 198-230 (PDF, 2.5MB).
Holmer, Nils. 1979. Punthamara (with comparative notes on Kalali), ms. Holmer, Nils. 1988. Notes on some Queensland languages: Pacific Linguistics D79, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
