Potoroidae is a family of
marsupial
Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...
s, small Australian animals known as
bettongs,
potoroos
Potoroo is a common name for species of ''Potorous'', a genus of smaller marsupials. They are allied to the Macropodiformes, the suborder of kangaroo, wallaby, and other rat-kangaroo genera. All three extant species are threatened by ecological c ...
, and rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
or a very small
wallaby
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...
.
Taxonomy
The potoroids are smaller relatives of the
kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
s and wallabies, and may be ancestral to that group. In particular, the teeth show a simpler pattern than in the
kangaroo family, with longer upper
incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, whe ...
s, larger
canines
Canine may refer to:
Zoology and anatomy
* a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae
** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals
** Dog, the domestic dog
* Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy
People with the surn ...
, and four cusps on the
molars
The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone to ...
.
However, both groups possess a wide
diastema
A diastema (plural diastemata, from Greek διάστημα, space) is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars. More colloquially, the condition ...
between the incisors and the cheek teeth, and the potoroids have a similar dental formula to their larger relatives:
In most respects, however, the potoroids are similar to small wallabies. Their hind feet are elongated, and they move by hopping, although the adaptations are not as extreme as they are in true wallabies, and, like
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s, they often use their fore limbs to move about at slower speeds.
The potoroids are, like nearly all
diprotodonts
Diprotodontia (, from Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-s ...
,
herbivorous
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
. However, while they take a wide variety of plant foods, most have a particular taste for the fruiting bodies of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
, and often depend on fungi to see them through periods when little else is available to eat in the
dry Australian bush. One example of a potoroo that sustains itself on fungi is the
long-footed potoroo
The long-footed potoroo (''Potorous longipes'') is a small marsupial found in southeastern Australia, restricted to an area around the coastal border between New South Wales and Victoria. It was first recorded in 1967 when an adult male was caugh ...
. This animal's diet is almost entirely made up of fungal spores. This limits its habitat range as it needs to live in a moist environment, with dense cover to reduce predation from introduced species such as foxes and feral cats.
Ecology
The once populous species of this family played a role in the engineering of soil, dominating the sub-storey of vegetation, and regarded as crucial to the maintenance of the friable soils that they created by digging for fungi and other subsoil foods.
Status
Four modern species of bettongs are extant and two have become extinct. Bettongs were endangered because settlers took much of their habitat, and the
red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
es they introduced to the continent also killed many of them. At one time, several species lived all over Australia. Today, the Tasmanian bettong lives only in the eastern half of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, and the northern bettong lives only in three isolated populations in northern
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
The potoroines have exemplified the impact of ecological changes since colonisation of Australia. Most species have become extinct within their former distribution range, and are either totally extinct or conserved only by preservation in isolated habitat and re-population programs.
Classification
![Bettongia gaimardi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Bettongia_gaimardi.jpg)
A basal branch of the
macropods,
the three extant genera of the Potoroidae contain eight species.
The arrangements of the related taxa have seen an arrangement of the subfamilies within Potoroidae, although an earlier classification within the family Macropodidae has also been supported by genetic studies.
A conservative arrangement of modern and fossil taxa may be summarised as:
* family Potoroidae
:* subfamily †Palaeopotoroinae
''Palaeopotorous priscus'' is a fossil species of a diprotodont marsupial, known from specimens obtained in central Australia. The animal was similar to the modern species of the family Potoroidae, the potoroos and bettongs.
Taxonomy
The only ...
::* genus ''Palaeopotorous
''Palaeopotorous priscus'' is a fossil species of a diprotodont marsupial, known from specimens obtained in central Australia. The animal was similar to the modern species of the family Potoroidae, the potoroos and bettongs.
Taxonomy
The only ...
''
:* subfamily Potoroinae
Potoroidae is a family of marsupials, small Australian animals known as bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large rodent or a very small wallaby.
Taxonomy
The potoroids are s ...
::* genus ''Aepyprymnus
The rufous rat-kangaroo or rufous bettong (''Aepyprymnus rufescens'') is a small, jumping, rat-like mammal native to eastern Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Aepyprymnus''. The largest member of the rat-kangaroo family ( Potoroid ...
''
::* genus '' Bettongia''
::* genus †'' Borungaboodie''
::* genus †'' Milliyowi''
::* genus †''Caloprymnus
The desert rat-kangaroo (''Caloprymnus campestris''), also called the buff-nosed rat-kangaroo, plains rat-kangaroo or oolacunta,Tony Robinson & Tiana Forrest (2012A possible sighting of the Desert Rat-kangaroo or Oolacunta (''Caloprymnus campestr ...
''
::* genus '' Potorous''
::* genus †'' Purtia''
::* genus †'' Wakiewakie''
::* genus †'' Gumardee''
:* subfamily †Bulungamayinae
Bulungamayinae is a subfamily that allies fossil species of marsupials, showing close morphological features found in the modern potoroines, the bettongs and potoroos of Australia.
The group possess characteristics of their dentition that place ...
::* genus '' Bulungamaya''
::* genus '' Wabularoo''
::* genus '' Wanburoo''
::* genus '' Nowidgee''
::* genus ''Ganguroo
''Ganguroo'' is a genus of fossil macropods found at Riversleigh in Australia, material dating from the Middle to Late Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma) ...
''
References
External links
* ARKive
images and movies of the burrowing bettong ''(Bettongia lesueur)''
DPIWE information on the Tasmanian Bettong
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile
Australian Faunal Directory
{{Authority control
Marsupials of Australia
Extant Chattian first appearances
Mammal families
Taxa named by John Edward Gray