Tammar Wallaby
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| Tammar Wallaby Conservation status: Lower risk (nt) | ||||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Tammar_mjw.jpg Tammar | ||||||||||||||||
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| Macropus eugenii Desmarest, 1817 |
The Tammar Wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is a small member of the kangaroo family and is the type species for research on kangaroos and marsupials.
They are found on offshore islands on the South Australian and Western Australian coast. They are classified as vermin on Kangaroo Island, where they seasonally breed up to large numbers and damage echidna habitat on the island.
Tammar Wallabies are also found in New Zealand where they were transported from the South Australian mainland population which has since been driven to extinction by feral cats and foxes.
Also known as the Darma Wallaby, the Tammar Wallaby's small size (approx 8kg, similar to a large cat) and ease of keeping in captivity makes it a popular zoo animal.
External link
- Kangaroo Genome Project (http://kangaroo.genome.org.au/)
- ARC Centre for Kangaroo Genomics (http://kangaroo.genomics.org.au/)
- SA Government Department of Environment and Heritage tammar wallaby page (http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/biodiversity/tammar.html)