|
 |
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
Southern potoroo, long-nosed rat kangaroo - POTOROUS TRIDACTYLUS
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Potoroo": "Potoroo" probably derives from a native Australian word, as do most of the common animal names in Australia. "Kangaroo" is a native Australian word, probably coming out of the Queensland area of Australia. This is a rat sized animal.
Location: Southeastern coastal Australia, Tasmania.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Wet eucalypt forests.
Description: This is a small, rabbit-sized marsupial with relatively long hind legs, a pointed snout, short round ears, and a short tapering prehensile tail. Its fur is long, soft, and straight, grizzled reddish-gray color or near black on the back, but a whitish belly. Its tail often has a white tip. The average head and body length of the potoroo is 16", with a weight of about 2 to 4 lbs.
Behavior: The smallest of the macropods (latin for "large feet"), the southern potoroo inhabits dense undergrowth and tall grass in well-forested areas. Its nest is of dry grass. In motion it is a diminutive kangaroo, moving slowly on its hind legs only, covering about 12 to 18 inches with each bound. Strictly nocturnal, the southern potoroo eats mostly grass and fungi, together with other plant material, and consumes insects when abundant during spring and summer. It scratches shallow holes in the ground to obtain food, which it then eats squirrel fashion, using its hands.
Reproduction: Breeding is throughout the year, but most young are born between September and October or January and February. Gestation takes 38 days, and this species has delayed implantation. The single offspring is weaned when 115-120 days old.
Go to the Marsupials Page to get a general discussion of these animals.
Or go to the Kangaroo Index to study other kangaroos.
From Address Labels to Zoo Toys... All Creatures Great and Small You'll Find It at the America Zoo Gift Shop Realistic Stuffed Animals & Animal Figurines Wildlife Decor for Your Home Animal Books, Magazines, and Educational Materials A Wide Variety of Wildlife Gifts & Apparel and Much, Much More  ↓ For Your Favorite Little Animal Lover ↓
Home Animal Research Library About AmericaZoo
|
