Pademelon (Redirected from Thylogale)

Pademelon
Tasmanian pademelon, Thylogale billardierii
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Subfamily: Macropodinae
Genus: Thylogale
Gray, 1837
Type species
Halmaturus (Thylogale) eugenii
Gray, 1837
(=Halmaturus thetis Lesson, 1828)
Species

7, see text

Pademelons are small marsupials in the genus Thylogale, found in Australia and New Guinea. They are some of the smallest members of the macropod family (Macropodidae), which includes the similar-looking but larger kangaroos and 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.

The word "pademelon" comes from the word badimaliyan in Dharug, an Aboriginal language spoken near what is now Sydney, Australia.[citation needed] The scientific name Thylogale uses the Greek words for "pouch" and "weasel."

Species

Image Scientific name Distribution
Tasmanian pademelon or red-bellied pademelon, Thylogale billardierii
Brown's pademelon, Thylogale browni
Dusky pademelon, Thylogale brunii
Calaby's pademelon, Thylogale calabyi
Mountain pademelon, Thylogale lanatus
Red-legged pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica
Red-necked pademelon, Thylogale thetis

Distribution and habitat

Red-legged pademelons can be found in the coastal regions of Queensland and New South Wales, and in south-central New Guinea. In some areas, their range has been drastically reduced.

The red-bellied or Tasmanian pademelon is abundant in Tasmania, although it was once found throughout the southeastern parts of mainland Australia.

The 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 Latin name of this species is called after De Bruijn.

The natural habitat of the pademelon is in thick scrubland or dense forested undergrowth. They also make tunnels through long grasses and bushes in swampy country.[citation needed]

Threats

Pademelon meat used to be considered valuable and was eaten by settlers and Aboriginals.

Aside from being killed for their meat and soft fur, their numbers have been reduced by the introduction of non-native predators such as feral cats, feral dogs, and red foxes. The rabbit explosion 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.

Tasmanian pademelons were important to the thylacines' diet, and they are still preyed on by quolls, 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.


This page was last updated at 2023-11-15 07:04 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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