Block, SkipCaptcha, Automoderated users, edit
4,575
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Created page with "The '''pademelon''' (Genus Thylogale) is an Australian marsupial. It is a macropod of the same basic shape as the kangaroo and wallaby but smaller. It is also mor..."
The '''pademelon''' (Genus Thylogale) is an [[Australia]]n [[marsupial]]. It is a macropod of the same basic shape as the [[kangaroo]] and [[wallaby]] but smaller. 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]].
There are seven species which 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 12kg (24lb). It can reach speeds of over 50kph (34mph) 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.
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
[[Category:Marsupials]]
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category: Mammals]]
There are seven species which 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 12kg (24lb). It can reach speeds of over 50kph (34mph) 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.
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
[[Category:Marsupials]]
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category: Mammals]]