Order Marsupialia

Family Macropodidae

Macropodidae is a family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, quokkas, 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.[2]

Description

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.[3] Most species have four molars and, when the last pair is too worn to be of use, the animals starve to death.[4] The dental formula for macropods is 3.0–1.2.41.0.2.4.

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.[5]

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" and is appropriate: 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.[6] 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.

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]

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[7] and produce a mating plug after copulation.[8][9][10] Gestation in macropods lasts about a month, being slightly longer in the largest species. Typically, only a single young is born, weighing less than 1 g (0.035 oz) 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.[11]

The image above is of the Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) seen in Yungaburra, Queensland. Note the extremely large tail reminiscent of those of Langurs in Southeast and South Asia. The Tree-Roos occupy a similar niche.