Potoroidae
Encyclopedia
The marsupial
family Potoroidae includes the bettong
s, potoroo
s, and two of the rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large rodent
or a very small wallaby
.
s and wallabies, and may be ancestral to that group. In particular, the teeth show a simpler pattern than in the kangaroo family, with longer upper incisor
s, larger canines, and four cusps on the molars
. However, both groups possess a wide diastema
between the incisors and the cheek teeth, and the potoroids have a similar dental formula to their larger relatives:
In most respects, however, the potoroids are similar to small wallabies. Their hind feet are elongated, and they move by hopping, although the adaptations are not as extreme as they are in true wallabies, and, like rabbit
s, they often use their forelimbs to move about at slower speeds.
The potoroids are, like nearly all diprotodonts
, herbivorous. However, while they take a wide variety of vegetable foods, most have a particular taste for the fruiting bodies of fungi, and often depend on fungi to see them through periods when there is little else to eat in the dry Australian bush
. One example of a potoroo that sustains itself on fungi is the Long-footed Potoroo
. This animal's diet is almost entirely made up of fungal spores. This limits its habitat range as it needs to live in a moist environment, with dense cover to reduce predation from introduced species such as foxes and feral cats.
, and the Northern Bettong lives only in three isolated populations in northern Queensland
.
There are three extant genera
of potoroid, containing eight species:
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
family Potoroidae includes the bettong
Bettong
The bettongs are species of the genus Bettongia, sometimes referred to as rat-kangaroos. Five species are recognised:* Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi* Boodie, Bettongia lesueur...
s, potoroo
Potoroo
The Potoroo is a kangaroo/rat like animal about the size of a rabbit. All three extant species are threatened, especially The long-footed Potoroo and Gilbert's potoroo...
s, and two of the rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
or a very small wallaby
Wallaby
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
.
Characteristics
The potoroids are smaller relatives of the kangarooKangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and wallabies, and may be ancestral to that group. In particular, the teeth show a simpler pattern than in the kangaroo family, with longer upper incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s, larger canines, and four cusps on the molars
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
. However, both groups possess a wide diastema
Diastema (dentistry)
Diastema is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars.-In humans:...
between the incisors and the cheek teeth, and the potoroids have a similar dental formula to their larger relatives:
In most respects, however, the potoroids are similar to small wallabies. Their hind feet are elongated, and they move by hopping, although the adaptations are not as extreme as they are in true wallabies, and, like rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, they often use their forelimbs to move about at slower speeds.
The potoroids are, like nearly all diprotodonts
Diprotodontia
Diprotodontia is a large order of about 120 marsupial mammals including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the rhinoceros-sized Diprotodon, and Thylacoleo, the so-called "marsupial lion"....
, herbivorous. However, while they take a wide variety of vegetable foods, most have a particular taste for the fruiting bodies of fungi, and often depend on fungi to see them through periods when there is little else to eat in the dry Australian bush
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
. One example of a potoroo that sustains itself on fungi is the Long-footed Potoroo
Long-footed Potoroo
The Long-footed Potoroo is a species of potoroo found in southeastern Australia, in a small area around the coastal border between New South Wales and Victoria. It was discovered in 1967 when an adult male was caught in a dog trap in the forest southwest of Bonang, Victoria...
. This animal's diet is almost entirely made up of fungal spores. This limits its habitat range as it needs to live in a moist environment, with dense cover to reduce predation from introduced species such as foxes and feral cats.
Status
There are four species of bettong. Bettongs were endangered because settlers took much of their habitat and the foxes they introduced to the continent also killed many of them. At one time, both species lived all over Australia. But today, the Tasmanian Bettong lives only in the eastern half of TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, and the Northern Bettong lives only in three isolated populations in northern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
Classification
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of potoroid, containing eight species:
- Family Potoroidae
- Genus †Wakiewakie
- Genus †Purtia
- Genus ?†Palaeopotorous
- Subfamily †Bulungamayinae
- Genus †Wabularoo
- †Wabularoo hilarus
- †Wabularoo naughtoni
- Genus †Bulungamaya
- Genus †Wabularoo
- Subfamily Potoroinae
- Genus Aepyprymnus
- Rufous Rat-kangarooRufous Rat-kangarooThe Rufous Rat-kangaroo , also known as the Rufous Bettong, is a small species of the family Potoroidae found in Australia. It is found in coastal and subcoastal regions from Newcastle in New South Wales to Cooktown in Queensland, and was formerly found in the Murray River Valley of New South Wales...
, Aepyprymnus rufescens
- Rufous Rat-kangaroo
- Genus Bettongia
- Eastern BettongEastern BettongThe Eastern Bettong , also known as the Southern Bettong and Tasmanian Bettong, is a bettong whose natural range includes south-eastern Australia and the eastern part of Tasmania. Following the introduction of the red fox, it became extinct on mainland Australia around 1890.- Diet and Behaviour...
, Bettongia gaimardi - BoodieBoodieThe Boodie , also known as the Burrowing Bettong, is a small marsupial. It is a fascinating example of the effects of introduced animals on Australian fauna and ecosystems. Once the most common macropodiform mammal on the whole continent, the Boodie now only lives on off-lying islands and in a...
, Bettongia lesueur - WoylieWoylieThe Woylie , also known as the Brush-tailed Bettong, is a small marsupial that belongs to the genus Bettongia. It is endemic to Australia...
, Bettongia penicillata - Northern BettongNorthern BettongThe Northern Bettong is a small potoroid marsupial which is restricted to some areas of mixed open Eucalyptus woodlands and Allocasuarina forests bordering rainforests in far northeastern Queensland, Australia....
, Bettongia tropica - †Bettongia moyesi
- Eastern Bettong
- Genus †Caloprymnus
- †Desert Rat-kangarooDesert Rat-kangarooThe Desert Rat-kangaroo , also called the Buff-nosed Rat-kangaroo or the Plains Rat-kangaroo, is an extinct marsupial that lived in a sand ridge and gibber plain habitat in southwestern Queensland and northeastern South Australia. It was the size of a small rabbit...
, Caloprymnus campestris
- †Desert Rat-kangaroo
- Genus Potorous
- Long-footed PotorooLong-footed PotorooThe Long-footed Potoroo is a species of potoroo found in southeastern Australia, in a small area around the coastal border between New South Wales and Victoria. It was discovered in 1967 when an adult male was caught in a dog trap in the forest southwest of Bonang, Victoria...
, Potorous longipes - †Broad-faced PotorooBroad-faced PotorooThe Broad-faced Potoroo is an extinct species of marsupial that once lived in Australia. The first specimen was collected in 1839 and described by John Gould in 1844, but even then it was rare and only a handful of specimens were ever collected, the last in 1875...
, Potorous platyops - Long-nosed PotorooLong-nosed PotorooThe Long-nosed Potoroo is a species of Australian potoroo. It is listed as Endangered in Victoria , Vulnerable in Queensland and nationally , although the IUCN lists it as Lower Risk.At first glance the Long-nosed Potoroo with its...
, Potorous tridactylus - Gilbert's PotorooGilbert's PotorooGilbert's Potoroo is an Australian marsupial, sometimes called a rat-kangaroo, that is critically endangered. It is described as pointed in the face and about the size of a rabbit. It lives in a restricted area on the southwest coast of Western Australia. Gilbert's Potoroos now exist on Bald...
, Potorous gilbertii
- Long-footed Potoroo
- Genus †Gumardee
- †Gumardee pascuali
- Genus †Milliyowi
- †Milliyowi bunganditj
- Genus Aepyprymnus