''Macropus'' is a marsupial genus in the family Macropodidae. It has two

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species of large terrestrial kangaroos. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek μάκρος, ''makros'' "long" and πους, ''pous'' "foot". Thirteen known extinct species are recognised. The type species is the eastern grey kangaroo.

Taxonomy

In 2019, a reassessment of macropod taxonomy determined that '' Osphranter'' and '' Notamacropus'', formerly considered subgenera, should be moved to the genus level. This change was accepted by the Australian Faunal Directory in 2020.

Extant Species

Fossils

A currently-unnamed Pleistocene ''Macropus'' species from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

was the largest kangaroo ever, with an estimated mass of around 274 kg (~604 lb). * †'' Macropus dryas'' * †'' Macropus gouldi'' * †'' Macropus narada'' * †'' Macropus piltonensis'' * †'' Macropus rama'' * †'' Macropus woodsi'' * †'' Macropus pavana'' * †'' Macropus thor'' * †''

Macropus ferragus ''Macropus ferragus'' is an extinct species of kangaroo that lived in Australia during the Late Pleistocene. Description ''Macropus ferragus'' was a large species of kangaroo. It has been estimated to stand up to and weigh around . Fossils have ...

'' * †'' Macropus mundjabus'' * †'' Macropus pan'' * †'' Macropus pearsoni'' * †''

Macropus titan ''Macropus titan'' is an extinct species of kangaroo (a marsupial) that lived during the Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11, ...

'' (or †''Macropus giganteus titan'')

Taxonomy

Extant Species

Fossils

References

Further reading