{{Short description|Family of marsupial mammals}} {{Distinguish|Macropodia|Macropodinae}} {{Expand language|topic=scitech|fa=y|langcode=de|date=December 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Macropods<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=58–70}}</ref> | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Late Oligocene|Present}} {{period fossil range|Cenozoic|late Oligocene|Present}} |image={{Multiple image |perrow=2/2/2 |total_width=275 |image1=Lagorchestes_fasciatus_Gould.jpg |image2=Simosthenurus_AMNH.jpg |image3=Macropus_giganteus_Male.jpg |image4=Wallaby-fighting-Tasmania.jpg |border=infobox }} | image_caption= Clockwise from top-left: Banded hare-wallaby, ''Simosthenurus'', Red-necked wallaby, and Eastern grey kangaroo | taxon = Macropodidae | authority = Gray, 1821 | type_genus = ''Macropus'' | type_genus_authority = Shaw, 1790 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = *{{extinct}}''Bulungamaya'' *{{extinct}}''Cookeroo'' *{{extinct}}''Ganguroo'' *{{extinct}}''Gumardee''? *{{extinct}}''Ngamaroo''? *{{extinct}}''Purtia''? *{{extinct}}''Wabularoo''? *{{extinct}}''Wakiewakie''? *'''Lagostrophinae''' <small>Prideaux & Warburton, 2009</small> **''Lagostrophus'' **{{extinct}}''Tjukuru'' **{{extinct}}''Troposodon'' *Macropodinae *Potoroinae? *{{extinct}}Sthenurinae | range_map = File:Macropodidae.png | range_map_caption = Macropodidae distribution }}
'''Macropodidae''' is a family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, the quokka, and several other groups. These genera are allied to the suborder Macropodiformes, containing other macropods, and are native to the Australian continent (the mainland and Tasmania), New Guinea and nearby islands.<ref name=Clode2006>{{cite book|last=Clode|first=D|title=Continent of Curiosities: A Journey Through Australian Natural History|pages=25–8|publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Melbourne|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-86620-0}}</ref> {{As of|2025}} there are 63 recognised living species in this family.
==Description== [[File:Bennett's wallaby skull.jpg|thumb|left|A Bennett's wallaby skull]] Although omnivorous kangaroos lived in the past, these were not members of the family Macropodidae; modern macropods are generally herbivorous. Some are browsers, but most are grazers and are equipped with appropriately specialised teeth for cropping and grinding up fibrous plants, in particular grasses and sedges. Modern omnivorous kangaroos generally belong to a different family (for example, the musky rat-kangaroo). In general, macropods have a broad, straight row of cutting teeth at the front of the mouth, no canine teeth, and a gap before the molars. The molars are large and, unusually, do not appear all at once but a pair at a time at the back of the mouth as the animal ages, eventually becoming worn down by the tough, abrasive grasses and falling out. Like many Macropodiformes, early kangaroos had plagiaulacoids, but these converted into normal molars in more derived species.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gurovich | first1 = Y. | last2 = Beck | first2 = R. | year = 2009 | title = The phylogenetic affinities of the enigmatic mammalian clade Gondwanatheria | journal = Journal of Mammalian Evolution | volume = 16 | issue = 1| pages = 25–49 | doi = 10.1007/s10914-008-9097-3 | s2cid = 42799370 }}</ref> Most species have four molars and, when the last pair is too worn to be of use, the animals starve to death.<ref>[https://asknature.org/strategy/teeth-replace-themselves/ Attenborough, D. 1979. Life on Earth. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. 319 p.]</ref> The dental formula for macropods is {{DentalFormula|upper=3.0–1.2.4|lower=1.{{0}}0{{0}}.2.4}}.
Like the eutherian ruminants of the Northern Hemisphere (sheep, cattle, and so on), macropods have specialised digestive systems that use a high concentration of bacteria, protozoans, and fungi in the first chamber of a complex stomach to digest plant material. The details of organisation are quite different, but the result is somewhat similar.
The particular structure-function relationship of the Macropodidae gut and the gut microbiota allows the degradation of lignocellulosic material with a relatively low emission of methane relative to other ruminants. These low emissions are partly explained by the anatomical differences between the macropodid digestive system and that of ruminants, resulting in shorter retention times of particulate digesta within the foregut. This fact might prevent the establishment of methanogenic archaea, which has been found in low levels in tammar wallabies (''Notamacropus eugenii'') and eastern grey kangaroo (''M. giganteus''). Metagenomic analysis revealed that the foregut of tammar wallabies mainly contains bacteria belonging to the phyla Bacillota, Bacteroidota, and Pseudomonadota. Among Pseudomonadota populations of the Succinivibrionaceae family are overrepresented and may contribute to low methane emissions.<ref name=Pope2011>{{cite journal|title=Isolation of Succinivibrionaceae implicated in low ethane emissions from Tammar Wallabies|author=Pope, PB|journal=Science|volume=333|pages=646–648|year=2011|issue=6042|doi=10.1126/science.1205760|pmid=21719642|bibcode=2011Sci...333..646P|s2cid=206534060|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Macropods vary in size considerably, but most have very large hind legs and long, powerfully muscled tails. The term ''macropod'' comes from the Greek for 'large foot', as most have very long, narrow hind feet with a distinctive arrangement of toes. The fourth toe is very large and strong, the fifth toe moderately so; the second and third are fused; and the first toe is usually missing. Their short front legs have five separate digits. Some macropods have seven carpal bones instead of the usual eight in mammals.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015714/http://home.brisnet.org.au/~mccready/Swamp%20Wallaby.htm Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) carpals<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> All have relatively small heads and most have large ears, except for tree-kangaroos, which must move quickly between closely spaced branches. The young are born very small and the pouch opens forward.
The unusual development of the hind legs is optimised for economical long-distance travel at fairly high speed. The greatly elongated feet provide enormous leverage for the strong legs, but the famous kangaroo hop has more: kangaroos and wallabies have a unique ability to store elastic strain energy in their tendons. In consequence, most of the energy required for each hop is provided "free" by the spring action of the tendons (rather than by muscular effort). The main limitation on a macropod's ability to leap is not the strength of the muscles in the hindquarters, it is the ability of the joints and tendons to withstand the strain of hopping.
[[Image:Quokka cropped.jpg|thumb|A female quokka with a joey]]
Furthermore, the act of hopping in kangaroos and wallabies is associated with their breathing process. The movement of their feet off the ground helps to expel air from their lungs, while bringing their feet forward for landing replenishes their lungs with air, resulting in greater energy efficiency. Studies conducted on these animals have shown that hopping at faster speeds requires only a minimal increase in effort beyond the energy required to hop in general, which is significantly less than what would be required in other animals like horses, dogs, or humans. Additionally, it has been observed that carrying extra weight requires little additional energy, which is particularly important for female kangaroos and wallabies carrying heavy pouch young.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
The ability of larger macropods to survive on poor-quality, low-energy feed, and to travel long distances at high speed without great energy expenditure (to reach fresh food supplies or waterholes, and to escape predators) has been crucial to their evolutionary success on a continent that, because of poor soil fertility and low, unpredictable average rainfall, offers only very limited primary plant productivity.
Most macropod species have a polygynous mating system<ref>Sigg, Dominique P., and Anne W. Goldizen. [https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/87/3/461/2663121/87-3-461.pdf "Male reproductive tactics and female choice in the solitary, promiscuous bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata)."] Journal of Mammalogy 87.3 (2006): 461-469.</ref> and produce a mating plug after copulation.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Vogelnest |first1=Larry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p8cDEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA141 |title=Medicine of Australian Mammals |last2=Woods |first2=Rupert |date=2008-08-18 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-09797-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Staker |first=Lynda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=37e1AwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA58 |title=Macropod Husbandry, Healthcare and Medicinals--Volumes One and Two |date=2014-06-30 |publisher=Lynda Staker |isbn=978-0-9775751-2-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Stephen M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ys_NC1P9AX4C&pg=PA279 |title=Australian Mammals: Biology and Captive Management |date=2003 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-06635-9 |language=en}}</ref> Gestation in macropods lasts about a month, being slightly longer in the largest species. Typically, only a single young is born, weighing less than {{convert|1|g|abbr=on}} at birth. They soon attach themselves to one of four teats inside the mother's pouch. The young leave the pouch after five to 11 months, and are weaned after a further two to six months. Macropods reach sexual maturity at one to three years of age, depending on the species.<ref name=Macdonald1984>{{cite book|editor-last=Macdonald|editor-first=D|last=Poole|first=WE|title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/862 862–71]|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|year=1984|isbn=0-87196-871-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/862}}</ref>
==Fossil record== {{main|Evolution of Macropodidae}} [[File:Procoptodon goliah.jpg|thumb | ''Procoptodon goliah'' ]] [[File:Simosthenurus_BW.jpg|thumb |''Simosthenurus occidentalis'']] [[File:Sthenurus stirlingi.jpg|thumb |''Sthenurus strilingi'']]
The evolutionary ancestors of marsupials split from placental mammals during the Jurassic period about 160 million years ago (Mya).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Luo|first1=Z. X.|last2=Yuan | first2= C. X. | last3 = Meng | first3 = Q. J. | last4 = Ji | first4 = Q.| title=A Jurassic eutherian mammal and divergence of marsupials and placentals |journal=Nature |date=25 August 2011 |volume=476 |issue=7361 |pages=442–445 |doi=10.1038/Nature10291 | pmid=21866158|bibcode=2011Natur.476..442L|s2cid=205225806}}</ref> The earliest known fossil macropod dates back about 11.61 to 28.4 Mya, either in the Miocene or Late Oligocene, and was uncovered in South Australia. Unfortunately, the fossil could not be identified any further than the family. A Queensland fossil of a species similar to ''Hadronomas'' has been dated at around 5.33 to 11.61 Mya, falling in the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene. The earliest completely identifiable fossils are from around 5.33 Mya.<ref name=Paleo2011>{{cite web|author=The Paleobiology Database|title=Macropodidae (kangaroo)|work=The Paleobiology Database|publisher=Australian Research Council|location=Majura Park, ACT, Australia|year=2011|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=40140|access-date=2011-07-11}}</ref>
==Classification== {{See also|List of macropodiformes}} <!-- This section is linked from Wallaby --> [[Image:Tree-kangaroo-on-a-branch-facing.jpg|thumb|Tree-kangaroos have smaller ears for easier maneuvering between tree branches, and a much longer tail.]] thumb|A red kangaroo showing pentapedal locomotion while grazing: the forelimbs and tail take the animal's weight while the hind legs are brought forward. [[Image:Pademelon de Tasmanie.jpg|thumb|upright|A pademelon has typical macropod legs, although they are obscured by fur in this image.]] [[Image:Pademelon-eating-with-hands.jpg|thumb|upright|A pademelon eating a slice of sweet potato: Although usually grazing directly from the ground with their mouth, macropods may also use their front paws to assist in grazing.]] [[Image:Flying-kangaroo.jpg|thumb|A "forester kangaroo" hopping over a puddle]]
The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (2005), except where the [https://mammaldiversity.org/ Mammal Diversity Database] and IUCN agree on a change. The two living subfamilies in the family Macropodidae are the Lagostrophinae, represented by a single species, the banded hare-wallaby, and the remainder, which make up the subfamily Macropodinae (67 species).
* '''Macropodidae'''<ref name=msw3/><ref name=Haaramo2004>{{cite web|last=Haaramo|first=M|title=Macropodidae: kenguroos|work=Mikko's Phylogeny Archive|date=20 December 2004|url=http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/Synapsida/Metatheria/Notometatheria/Diprotodontia/Macropodidae.htm|access-date=15 March 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070331021022/http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/metazoa/Deuterostoma/chordata/Synapsida/Metatheria/Notometatheria/Diprotodontia/Macropodidae.htm|archive-date=31 March 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> ** Genus †''Watutia'' ** Genus †''Dorcopsoides'' ** Genus †''Kurrabi'' ** Subfamily Lagostrophinae<ref name=Prideaux2010>{{cite journal|last1=Prideaux|first1=GJ|last2=Warburton|first2=NM|title=An osteology-based appraisal of the phylogeny and evolution of kangaroos and wallabies (Macropodidae: Marsupialia)|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=159|issue=4|pages=954–87|year=2010|doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00607.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> *** Genus ''Lagostrophus'' **** Banded hare-wallaby, ''Lagostrophus fasciatus'' *** Genus †''Protemnodon'' *** Genus †''Troposodon'' ** Subfamily {{extinct}}Sthenurinae *** Genus †''Hadronomas'' *** Tribe †Sthenurini **** Genus †''Sthenurus'' **** Genus †''Metasthenurus'' *** Tribe †Simosthenurini **** Genus †''Archaeosimos'' **** Genus †''Simosthenurus'' **** Genus †''Procoptodon'' ** Subfamily Macropodinae *** Genus †''Prionotemnus'' *** Genus †''Congruus'' *** Genus †''Baringa'' *** Genus †''Bohra'' *** Genus †''Synaptodon'' *** Genus †''Fissuridon'' *** Genus †''Silvaroo'' *** Genus †''Nombe'' *** Genus ''Dendrolagus'': tree-kangaroos **** Grizzled tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus inustus'' **** Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus lumholtzi'' **** Bennett's tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus bennettianus'' **** Ursine tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus ursinus'' **** Matschie's tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus matschiei'' **** Doria's tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus dorianus'' **** Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus goodfellowi'' **** Lowlands tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus spadix'' **** Golden-mantled tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus pulcherrimus'' **** Seri's tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus stellarum'' **** Dingiso, ''Dendrolagus mbaiso'' **** Tenkile, ''Dendrolagus scottae'' **** Wondiwoi tree-kangaroo, ''Dendrolagus mayri'' **** Ifola, ''Dendrolagus notatus'' *** Genus ''Dorcopsis'' **** Brown dorcopsis, ''Dorcopsis muelleri'' **** White-striped dorcopsis, ''Dorcopsis hageni'' **** Black dorcopsis, ''Dorcopsis atrata'' **** Gray dorcopsis, ''Dorcopsis luctuosa'' *** Genus ''Dorcopsulus'' **** Small dorcopsis, ''Dorcopsulus vanheurni'' **** Macleay's dorcopsis, ''Dorcopsulus macleayi'' *** Genus ''Lagorchestes'' **** †Lake Mackay hare-wallaby, ''Lagorchestes asomatus'' **** Spectacled hare-wallaby, ''Lagorchestes conspicillatus'' **** Rufous hare-wallaby, ''Lagorchestes hirsutus'' **** †Eastern hare-wallaby, ''Lagorchestes leporides'' *** Genus ''Macropus'' **** Western grey kangaroo, ''Macropus fuliginosus'' **** Eastern grey kangaroo, ''Macropus giganteus'' *** Genus ''Notamacropus'' **** Agile wallaby, ''Notamacropus agilis'' **** Black-striped wallaby, ''Notamacropus dorsalis'' **** Tammar wallaby, ''Notamacropus eugenii'' **** Western brush wallaby, ''Notamacropus irma'' **** Parma wallaby, ''Notamacropus parma'' **** Whiptail wallaby, ''Notamacropus parryi'' **** Red-necked wallaby, ''Notamacropus rufogriseus'' **** †Toolache wallaby, ''Notamacropus greyi'' *** Genus ''Onychogalea'' **** Bridled nail-tail wallaby, ''Onychogalea fraenata'' **** †Crescent nail-tail wallaby, ''Onychogalea lunata'' **** Northern nail-tail wallaby, ''Onychogalea unguifera'' *** Genus ''Osphranter'' **** Antilopine kangaroo, ''Osphranter antilopinus'' **** Black wallaroo, ''Osphranter bernardus'' **** Common wallaroo, ''Osphranter robustus'' **** Red kangaroo, ''Osphranter rufus'' *** Genus ''Petrogale'' **** ''P. brachyotis'' species-group ***** Short-eared rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale brachyotis'' ***** Monjon, ''Petrogale burbidgei'' ***** Nabarlek, ''Petrogale concinna'' **** ''P. xanthopus'' species-group ***** Proserpine rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale persephone'' ***** Rothschild's rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale rothschildi'' ***** Yellow-footed rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale xanthopus'' **** ''P. lateralis''/''penicillata'' species-group ***** Allied rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale assimilis'' ***** Cape York rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale coenensis'' ***** Godman's rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale godmani'' ***** Herbert's rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale herberti'' ***** Unadorned rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale inornata'' ***** Black-flanked rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale lateralis'' ***** Mareeba rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale mareeba'' ***** Brush-tailed rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale penicillata'' ***** Purple-necked rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale purpureicollis'' ***** Mount Claro rock-wallaby, ''Petrogale sharmani'' *** Genus ''Setonix'' **** Quokka or short-tailed scrub wallaby, ''Setonix brachyurus'' *** Genus ''Thylogale'' **** Tasmanian pademelon, ''Thylogale billardierii'' **** Brown's pademelon, ''Thylogale browni'' **** Dusky pademelon, ''Thylogale brunii'' **** Calaby's pademelon, ''Thylogale calabyi'' **** Mountain pademelon, ''Thylogale lanatus<!--no longer recognized-->'' **** Red-legged pademelon, ''Thylogale stigmatica'' **** Red-necked pademelon, ''Thylogale thetis'' *** Genus ''Wallabia'' **** Swamp wallaby or black wallaby, ''Wallabia bicolor''
==See also== {{Portal|Australia|Animals|Mammals}} * Australian megafauna * Macropod hybrid
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{cite web |title=Macropodidae |publisher=Atlas of Living Australia |url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/190ad4b1-0444-4791-96a5-ee514438d7e6}} * {{Wikispecies inline|Macropodidae}} * {{Commons-inline|Macropus}} * {{Wiktionary inline|kangaroo}}
{{Phalangerida|M.|state=collapsed}} {{Diprotodontia|M.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q23193}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Macropods Category:Marsupials of Australia Category:Extant Chattian first appearances Category:Mammal families Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray