Biology:Macropus

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Short description: Genus of marsupials


Macropus[1]
Temporal range: Miocene - Present
Eastern grey kangaroo dec07 02.jpg
Eastern grey kangaroo
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Subfamily: Macropodinae
Genus: Macropus
Shaw, 1790
Type species
Macropus giganteus
Shaw, 1790

Macropus is a marsupial genus in the family Macropodidae. It has two extant species of large terrestrial kangaroos. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek μάκρος, makros "long" and πους, pous "foot". Thirteen known extinct species are recognised. The type species is the eastern grey kangaroo.

Taxonomy

In 2019, a reassessment of macropod taxonomy determined that Osphranter and Notamacropus, formerly considered subgenera, should be moved to the genus level.[2] This change was accepted by the Australian Faunal Directory in 2020.[3]

Extant Species

Image Scientific name Distribution
Kangaroo111.jpg Western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) Western Grey Kangaroo Range.jpg
Eastern Gray Kangaroo.jpg Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) Eastern Grey Kangaroo Range.jpg

Fossils

A currently-unnamed Pleistocene Macropus species from Australia was the largest kangaroo ever, with an estimated mass of around 274 kg (~604 lb).[4]

References

  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). "Order Diprotodontia". in Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 63–66. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=11000239. 
  2. Celik, Mélina; Cascini, Manuela; Haouchar, Dalal; Van Der Burg, Chloe; Dodt, William; Evans, Alistair; Prentis, Peter; Bunce, Michael et al. (28 March 2019). "A molecular and morphometric assessment of the systematics of the Macropus complex clarifies the tempo and mode of kangaroo evolution". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 186 (3): 793–812. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz005. https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/186/3/793/5421215. Retrieved 1 March 2020. 
  3. "Names List for MACROPODIDAE, Australian Faunal Directory". Australian Biological Resources Study, Australian Department of the Environment and Energy. 13 February 2020. https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/MACROPODIDAE/names. 
  4. Hocknull, Scott A.; Lewis, Richard; Arnold, Lee J.; Pietsch, Tim; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Price, Gilbert J.; Moss, Patrick; Wood, Rachel et al. (2020-05-18). "Extinction of eastern Sahul megafauna coincides with sustained environmental deterioration" (in en). Nature Communications 11 (1): 2250. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15785-w. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 32418985. Bibcode2020NatCo..11.2250H. 

Further reading

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q174322 entry


bs:Macropus eo:Makropo eu:Macropus gl:Macropus jbo:Macropus sr:Macropus