Tree-kangaroos are marsupials of the genus Dendrolagus, adapted for arboreal locomotion. They inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and far northeastern Queensland, along with some of the islands in the region. All tree-kangaroos are considered threatened due to hunting and habitat destruction. They are the only true arboreal macropods.
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, New Guinea and nearby islands.
The banded hare-wallaby, mernine, or munning is a marsupial currently found on the islands of Bernier and Dorre off western Australia. Reintroduced populations have recently been established on islands and fenced mainland sites, including Faure Island and Wadderin Sanctuary near Narembeen in the central wheatbelt.
The term Australian megafauna refers to the megafauna in Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch. Most of these species became extinct during the latter half of the Pleistocene, and the roles of human and climatic factors in their extinction are contested.
Sthenurinae is a subfamily within the marsupial family Macropodidae, known as short-faced kangaroos or sthenurine kangaroos. No members of this subfamily are extant today, with all becoming extinct by the late Pleistocene. Procoptodon goliah, the largest macropodid known to have existed, was a sthenurine kangaroo, but sthenurines occurred in a range of sizes, with Procoptodon gilli being the smallest at the size of a small wallaby.
Palorchestes is an extinct genus of large terrestrial, herbivorous Australian marsupial of the family Palorchestidae, living from the Miocene through to the Late Pleistocene. Like other palorchestids, it had highly retracted nasal region suggesting that it had a prehensile lip, as well as highly unusual clawed forelimbs that were used to grasp vegetation.
Sthenurus is an extinct genus of kangaroos. With a length around 3 m (10 ft), some species were twice as large as modern extant species. Sthenurus was related to the better-known Procoptodon. The subfamily Sthenurinae is believed to have separated from its sister taxon, the Macropodinae, halfway through the Miocene, and then its population grew during the Pliocene.
Simosthenurus, also referred to as the short-faced kangaroo, is an extinct genus of megafaunal macropods that existed in Australia, specifically Tasmania, during the Pleistocene. Analysis of Simosthenurus fossils has contributed to the finding that there are three lineages of macropods: Sthenurinae, Macropodinae, and Lagostrophinae. The genus Simosthenurus was among the sthenurines.
Silvaroo is an extinct genus of megafaunal macropods that existed in Australia in the Pleistocene. Based on fossil evidence and affinities with the extant forest wallabies from the genera Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus from Papua New Guinea, the two species of this genus were removed from the genus Protemnodon to Silvaroo.
Hulitherium tomasetti is an extinct zygomaturine marsupial that lived in New Guinea during the Pleistocene. The species name honours Berard Tomasetti, a Catholic priest in Papua New Guinea, who brought the fossils to the attention of experts.
Nambaroo is an extinct genus of macropod marsupial from the late Oligocene to the early Miocene of Australia.
Macropodinae is a subfamily of marsupials in the family Macropodidae, which includes the kangaroos, wallabies, and related species. The subfamily includes about ten genera and at least 51 species. It includes all living members of the Macropodidae except for the banded hare-wallaby, the only surviving member of the subfamily Lagostrophinae.
The Macropodidae are an extant family of marsupial with the distinction of the ability to move bipedally on the hind legs, sometimes by jumping, as well as quadrupedally. They are herbivores, but some fossil genera like Ekaltadeta are hypothesised to have been carnivores. The taxonomic affiliations within the family and with other groups of marsupials is still in flux.
Cookeroo is a genus of extinct kangaroos from the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene found in fossil deposits from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, in Australia. The genus includes two species, C. bulwidarri and C. hortusensis.
Notamacropus is a genus of small marsupials in the family Macropodidae, commonly known as wallabies. The term is derived from the Latin nota "stripe" and macropus "kangaroo", referencing the distinct facial stripe of many extant genus members and their phylogenetic relationship to other kangaroos.
Macropus pan is a species of marsupial that existed during the Pliocene in Australia, known only from fossils located at several sites across Australia. The species is recognised as allied to the modern grey kangaroos, the western Macropus fuliginosus and eastern Macropus giganteus, in a clade initially named as subgenus Macropus (Macropus) Dawson & Flannery. The first description was provided by Charles W. De Vis in 1895, emerging from the author's examination of fossil material held at the Queensland Museum. Fossil specimens of Quanbun local fauna, named for a site in Western Australia, were also identified as this species. The origin of the type specimen was not recorded, although based on comparisons to material with a known provenance it is assumed to have excavated at Chinchilla, Queensland. A larger macropod than any modern species, the standing height was estimated to be over two metres.
Watutia is an extinct genus of fossil kangaroo known from the Pliocene from New Guinea. It is only known from the type species Watutia novaeguineae, known from some fragmentary upper and lower jaws and isolated teeth from the Pliocene Otibanda Formation in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The closest relative of the genus was possibly Hadronomas, who lived in today's Queensland a few million years earlier. W. novaeguineae was about the size of a large shrub wallaby (Dorcopsis) and differs in some characteristics from the teeth of other kangaroos. The molars were low and the first premolars elongated. Cristids obliqua and posterior cingula are missing on the lower molars. The feature that defines the close association with Hadronomas was the upper first premolar, which was more bulbous with no lingual cingulum, differing it from most Macropods.
Bohra is an extinct genus of macropod from the Plio-Pleistocene of Australia. It is closely related to modern tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus), and like them is thought to have had an arboreal lifestyle, with some species of Bohra substantially exceeding living tree kangaroos in size.
Nombe is an extinct genus of macropodid containing a single species, Nombe nombe. which was formerly classified as a member of the genus Protemnodon. It was native to New Guinea during the Late Pleistocene. It was relatively large in body size and is thought to have been a browser. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that it is a basal member of the subfamily Macropodinae.
Congruus is an extinct genus of macropod known from the Late Pleistocene of Australia. There are two species, Congruus kitcheneri, which was originally described as a species of Wallabia, and Congruus congruus. Specimens are known from Mammoth Cave, Western Australia, the Thylacoleo Caves and the Naracoorte caves in South Australia. Potential material is also known from Eastern Australia. The morphology of the skull and limbs suggests that they were semi-arboreal browsers, moving slowly through trees, though they were larger than and not as specialised for climbing as living tree kangaroos. They are thought to be members of the tribe Macropodini, and close relatives of the extinct genus Protemnodon.
