View source for Biology:Pademelon

{{Short description|Small terrestrial marsupial}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|name=Pademelon<ref name="msw3">{{MSW3 Groves|pages=69–70}}</ref>
|image=Thylogale billardierii.jpg
|image_caption=[[Biology:Tasmanian pademelon|Tasmanian pademelon]], ''Thylogale billardierii''
|taxon=Thylogale
|authority=Gray, 1837
|type_species=[[Biology:Red-necked pademelon|''Halmaturus'' (''Thylogale'') ''eugenii'']]
|type_species_authority=Gray, 1837<br />(=''Halmaturus thetis'' Lesson, 1828)
|subdivision_ranks=[[Biology:Species|Species]]
|subdivision=7, see text
}}

'''Pademelons''' are small [[Biology:Marsupial|marsupial]]s in the [[Biology:Genus|genus]] '''''Thylogale''''', found in {{wipe|Australia}} and New Guinea. They are some of the smallest members of the [[Biology:Macropodidae|macropod family]], which includes the similar-looking but larger [[Biology:Kangaroo|kangaroo]]s and [[Biology:Wallaby|wallabies]]. Pademelons are distinguished by their small size and their short, thick, and sparsely-haired tails. Like most other marsupials, they carry their young in a pouch.

==Etymology==
The word "pademelon" comes from the word ''badimaliyan'' in Dharug, an Australian Aboriginal language spoken near what is now Port Jackson, New South Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |title=15 Weird Aussie Animal Names |url=https://www.natureaustralia.org.au/what-we-do/our-priorities/wildlife/wildlife-stories/weird-animals-names-australia/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=The Nature Conservancy Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref> The scientific name ''Thylogale'' uses the Greek words for "pouch" and "weasel."<ref name=Rose2018>{{cite journal|last1=Rose|first1=R.W.|last2=Rose|first2= R.K.|title=''Thylogale billardierii'' (Diprotodontia: Macropodidae)|journal= Mammalian Species|volume=50|issue=965|pages=100–108|year=2018|doi=10.1093/mspecies/sey012|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Description==
Along with the [[Biology:Rock-wallaby|rock-wallabies]] and the [[Biology:Lagorchestes|hare-wallabies]], the pademelons are among the smallest members of the macropod family. Mature male pademelons are larger than females, with an average weight of about 7&nbsp;kg and height of 60&nbsp;cm. Mature females weigh around 3.8&nbsp;kg.<ref>https://www.warrawongws.com.au/courses/pluginfile.php/72/mod_resource/content/1/Red%20Necked%20Pademelon%20Wallaby%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf</ref>

==Species==
There are seven recognised species within genus ''Thylogale'':<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Thylogale/classification/ | title=ADW: Thylogale: CLASSIFICATION | website=[[Biology:Animal Diversity Web|Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !!Distribution
|-
|[[File:Tasmanian Pademelon - Waterworks reserve.jpg|120px]] ||Tasmanian pademelon or red-bellied pademelon, ''Thylogale billardierii''||[[File:Tasmanian Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
| ||[[Biology:Brown's pademelon|Brown's pademelon]], ''Thylogale browni''||[[File:Brown's Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
|[[File:Macropodidae Thylogale brunii 3.jpg|120px]] || Dusky pademelon, ''Thylogale brunii''||[[File:Dusky Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
| ||[[Biology:Calaby's pademelon|Calaby's pademelon]], ''Thylogale calabyi''||[[File:Calaby's Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
| ||[[Biology:Mountain pademelon|Mountain pademelon]], ''Thylogale lanatus<!--no longer recognized-->''||[[File:Mountain Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
|[[File:Red-legged Pademelon. Thylogale stigmatica wilcoxi - Flickr - gailhampshire (1).jpg|120px]] ||Red-legged pademelon, ''Thylogale stigmatica''||[[File:Red-legged Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
|[[File:Red-necked Pademelon JCB.jpg|120px]] ||Red-necked pademelon, ''Thylogale thetis''||[[File:Red-necked Pademelon area.png|120px]]
|-
|}

==Distribution and habitat==
The [[Biology:Red-legged pademelon|red-legged pademelon]] can be found in the coastal regions of Queensland and New South Wales, and in south-central New Guinea. In some areas, its range has been drastically reduced.

The red-bellied or [[Biology:Tasmanian pademelon|Tasmanian pademelon]] is abundant in Tasmania, although it was once found throughout the southeastern parts of mainland Australia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=R.W. |last2=McCartney |first2=D.J. |year=1982 |title=Reproduction of the Red-Bellied Pademelon, ''Thylogale billardierii'' (Marsupialia) |journal=Australian Wildlife Research |volume=9 |pages=27–32 |doi=10.1071/wr9820027|url=http://www.zoo.utas.edu.au/RR/pdfRose/reproduction%20in%20the%20red-bellied%20pademelon.pdf |access-date=17 December 2011 }}</ref>

The [[Biology:Dusky pademelon|dusky pademelon]] lives in New Guinea and surrounding islands. It was previously called the Aru Islands wallaby. Before that, it was called the "philander" ("friend of man"), which is the name it bears in the second volume of Cornelis de Bruijn's ''Travels'', originally published in 1711. The [[Biology:Binomial nomenclature|Latin name]] of this species is called after De Bruijn.<ref>[https://www.livius.org/bn-bz/bruijn/cornelis_de_bruijn5.html Livius.org on Cornelis de Bruijn], by Jona Lendering.</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Filander}}</ref>

The natural habitat of the pademelon is in thick scrubland or dense forested undergrowth. It also makes tunnels through long grasses and bushes in swampy country.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Threats==
Pademelon meat used to be considered valuable and was eaten by settlers and indigenous Australians.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Driessen|first=Michael M.|year=1992|title=Effects of hunting and rainfall on Bennett's wallaby and Tasmanian pademelon populations|publisher=University of Tasmania|url=https://eprints.utas.edu.au/17321/|access-date=2021-03-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Milks|first=Annemieke|title=A Review of Ethnographic Use of Wooden Spears and Implications for Pleistocene Hominin Hunting|journal=Open Quaternary|volume=6|issue=1|year=2020|doi=10.5334/oq.85 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Aside from being killed for their meat and soft fur, their numbers have been reduced by the introduction of non-native predators such as Cats in Australia, dogs, and [[Biology:Red foxes in Australia|red foxes]]. The rapid increase in [[Biology:Rabbits in Australia|Australia's rabbit population]] has also caused problems as rabbits graze on the same grasses, making less available for the pademelons. Clearing of land for urbanisation has pushed the larger wallabies and kangaroos onto land that previously was occupied by pademelons with little competition.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wiggins|first1=Natasha L.|last2=Williamson|first2=Grant J.|last3=McCallum|first3=Hamish I.|last4=McMahon|first4=Clive R.|last5=Bowman|first5=David M. J. S.|title=Shifts in macropod home ranges in response to wildlife management interventions|journal=Wildlife Research|volume=37|issue=5|page=379|year=2010|doi=10.1071/wr09144}}</ref>

Tasmanian pademelons were an important part of the diet of the now-extinct [[Biology:Thylacine|thylacine]], and they are still preyed on by [[Biology:Quoll|quoll]]s, Tasmanian devils, and wedge-tailed eagles. Despite these predators, Tasmania and its outlying smaller islands have large numbers of pademelons and every year many are culled to keep their numbers sustainable.<ref>{{cite web | title=ABC News | website=Annual wallaby cull draws criticism | date=2011-07-25 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-25/20110725-maria-island-cull/2809526 | ref={{sfnref | Annual wallaby cull draws criticism | 2011}} | access-date=2021-08-07}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |title=''Thylogale'' Gray, 1837 |publisher=Atlas of Living Australia |url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/e344dfe6-a0ae-4fd2-b1d0-baa8de1a9592}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q668527}}

[[Category:Macropods]]

{{Sourceattribution|Pademelon}}