Australian Wildlife

Of the 40 species of macropods found in Australia, only two occur elsewhere (in New Guinea). The family contains kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokka, pademelons and ranges in size from the Red Kangaroo at 1.8m (6ft) and 90kg (198lb) down to the Monjon at 35cm (13in) and 1.4kg (3lb).

The distinction between 'kangaroo' and 'wallaby' is made by size; the six largest species are known as kangaroos. Because females tend to be considerably smaller than the males, this tends to be an arbitrary distinction as females of one species may be smaller than males of another.

GROUPING	FEATURES		NUMBER OF SPECIES

Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Wallaroos	a very diverse group, collectively found in most habitats		13

		Size of Males


Tree-kangaroos	spend most of their time in trees, primarily rainforest able to move one hind leg at a time which allows them to walk along branches rather than hop		2

Nailtail Wallabies	horny spur at the tip of their tails		2

Hare-wallabies	about the size of a hare move very rapidly if chased and zigzag to avoid capture hence the name Lagorchestes (Greek for dancing hare)		3

Pademelons	medium-sized inhabit rainforest & dense eucalypt forest generally solitary, they gather on open feeding grounds at night but never venture far from cover		3

Quokka	well known on Rottnest Island, WA but found only in isolated pockets on the mainland		1

Swamp Wallaby	quite distinct from the other wallabies live in forested areas with a dense understorey feed throughout the day and night on grasses, low shrubs, ferns but during the day they stay in forested areas that provide cover from predators		1

Rock-wallabies	found on rocky escarpments, cliffs shelter in caves and crevices can climb trees if the trunks are not vertical relatively short hind feet, soles are thickly padded and provide traction on slippery surfaces		15