Macropodidae

Thesaurus

Noun

Macropodidae - kangaroos; wallabies family Macropodidaemammal family - a family of mammalsMarsupialia, order Marsupialia - coextensive with the subclass Metatheriakangaroo - any of several herbivorous leaping marsupials of Australia and New Guinea having large powerful hind legs and a long thick tailgenus Macropus, Macropus - type genus of the family Macropodidae: typical kangaroos and wallabiesgenus Lagorchestes, Lagorchestes - hare wallabiesgenus Onychogalea, Onychogalea - a genus of Macropodidaegenus Petrogale, Petrogale - rock wallabiesgenus Thylogale, Thylogale - pademelonsDendrolagus, genus Dendrolagus - tree wallabiesgenus Hypsiprymnodon, Hypsiprymnodon - musk kangaroosPotoroinae, subfamily Potoroinae - rat kangaroos

Macropodidae

[‚mak·rə′päd·ə‚dē] (vertebrate zoology) The kangaroos, a family of Australian herbivorous mammals in the order Marsupialia.

Macropodidae

a family of marsupials. The body measures from 23 cm to 1.6 m long, and the tail from 13 cm to 1.1 m long. The hind limbs are significantly larger and stronger than the forelimbs. Members of most species move by hopping on their hind legs; a single hop may be as long as 10 m. The tail is used for balancing while the animal is hopping and acts as a supplementary support when the animal is at rest. The teeth are adapted for plant food. There are three subfamilies: Macropodinae (true kangaroos and wallabies), Potoroinae (rat kangaroos), and Hypsiprymnodontinae (musk kangaroos). They comprise approximately 50 species.

The Macropodidae are distributed in Australia, on the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea, and on the Bismarck Archipelago. They were brought into New Zealand. Many species are near extinction; the hide and meat of some species are used.

Macropodidae

noun

Synonyms for Macropodidae

noun kangaroos

Synonyms

family Macropodidae

Related Words

mammal family
Marsupialia
order Marsupialia
kangaroo
genus Macropus
Macropus
genus Lagorchestes
Lagorchestes
genus Onychogalea
Onychogalea
genus Petrogale
Petrogale
genus Thylogale
Thylogale
Dendrolagus
genus Dendrolagus
genus Hypsiprymnodon
Hypsiprymnodon
Potoroinae
subfamily Potoroinae