Last modified on June 24, 2016, at 23:10

Pademelon

Pademelon
Pademelon.jpg
Tasmanian pademelon
Thylogale billardierii
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain Eukaryota
Kingdom Animalia
Subkingdom Bilateria
Branch Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum Chordata
Sub-phylum Vertebrata
Infraphylum Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass Tetrapoda
Class Mammalia
Sub-class Theriiformes
Infra-class Marsupialia
Order Information
Superorder Eometatheria
Order Diprotodontia
Sub-order Macropodiformes
Family Information
Family Macropodidae
Sub-family Macropodinae
Genus Information
Genus Thylogale
Species Information
Species T. billardierii
T. browni
T. brunii
T. calabyi
T. lanatus
T. stigmatica
T. thetis
Population statistics

The pademelon refers to seven species of small Australian marsupial of the family Macropodidae, which includes their larger relatives the kangaroos and wallabies. It is also more thickset and has a shorter thicker tail. Originally thought of as a small species of wallaby, its name is an Anglicisation of badimaliyan from the language of the Dharuk people of the Port Jackson region of New South Wales.

Pademelons occupy most of the wetter warmer forested areas of the mainland of Australia as well as in New Guinea and Tasmania. It was once found throughout the south-east of Australia but has all but disappeared there. That species, the same as the present Tasmanian species (Thylogale billardierii from the French naturalist, Jacques Labillardiere who had visited Tasmania with Bruny d’Entrecasteaux in the 1790s and once known as the “rufous wallaby”) has a thicker woollier fur and is the largest of the genus; males are up to about 1.2 metres (4 feet) long and weigh up to about 12 kg (24 lb). It can reach speeds of over 50kph (34 mph) and can clear a metre high (3'3") fence easily. Unlike its mainland counterpart, its numbers are plentiful – sufficient for it to be hunted without a license and even for there to be an occasional cull. They make up a sizable proportion of Tasmanian roadkill.

Species

  • Brown's pademelon, Thylogale browni
  • Calaby's pademelon, Thylogale calabyi
  • Dusky pademelon, Thylogale brunii
  • Mountain pademelon, Thylogale lanatus
  • Red-legged pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica
  • Red-necked pademelon, Thylogale thetis
  • Tasmanian pademelon, Thylogale billardierii

Like its larger cousins it is a herbivore. As well as the natural leaves and grasses of the forest it enjoys kitchen waste and is even capable of demolishing hard vegetables such as carrots and parsnips. It is listed as nocturnal but that can be questioned. Pademelons tend to breed during autumn. Gestation takes 30 days, and the joeys stay in the pouch for between 6 and 7 months. They are sexually mature by 15 months. It is thought they live for about 5 or 6 years.

Link: http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=4863