Taxonomy
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| Family | Macropodidae | kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokka, pademelons |
| Genus | Thylogale | pouched weasel 3 species in Australia 4th species only in New Guinea |
| Common Name | pademelon | thought to be a corruption of an Aboriginal word for the Sydney area |
GENUS Thylogale
| SPECIES | Common name (P=pademelon) | Other common names |
| stigmatica | Red-legged P | Pademelon, Northern Red-legged Pademelon |
| thetis | Red-necked P | Pademelon Wallaby |
| billardierii | Red-bellied P | Tasmanian Pademelon, Rufous Wallaby, Red-bellied Wallaby |
Characteristics
General
- medium-sized wallabies
- males grow to about 7kg (15lbs); twice the size of females but are about the same height; males are more heavily muscled
Lifestyle
- generally solitary but may gather at feeding sites or basking spots in winter
- have established runways into forest from cleared areas where they forage
- home range of 5-6 hectares
- active in late afternoon through to dawn; rest during the day in shallow depressions
Feeding
- stay close to forest edge when foraging at night
- T. stigmatica – fallen leaves, fresh leaves, berries (Moreton Bay Fig and Burdekin Plum), also ferns, orchids, grasses
- T. billardierii , T.thetis – grasses, herbs, fresh leaves
Reproduction
- marsupials
- breed throughout the year
- sexually mature at 12-18 months
- T. billardierii – gestation 30 days; in pouch for 200 days
Habitat
- rainforest, dense eucalypt forest
- tend to live on the edge of forest
Distribution
- eastern Australia; also New Guinea
Predators
- dingoes, foxes
Status
- all species are fairly common within their ranges
Where to see Pademelons
| Red-bellied Pademelon T. billardierii | Australia Healesville Sanctuary, Healesville, VICGermany Zoologischer Garten Augsburg GmbH, Augsburg |
| Red-legged Pademelon T. stigmatica | Australia Melbourne Zoo, Parkville, VIC |
| Red-necked Pademelon T. thetis | Australia Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSWAustralia Taronga Zoo, Mosman, NSW |
References – books
- Australia’s Amazing Wildlife, 1985. Bay Books, Kensington NSW.
- Encyclopedia of Australian Wildlife, Readers Digest Australia Pty Ltd, 1997. Readers Digest (Australia) Pty Ltd, Surrey Hills.
- Complete Book Of Australian Mammals, R Strahan (ed), 1983. Angus & Robertson Publishers, London.
- Encyclopedia of Australian Mammals CD, 1997. Webster Publishing Pty Ltd.
