Wildlife
Kangaroos, possums and wallabies are an order of marsupial mammals that includes all the most familiar Australian animals: kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koalas and wombats. Most diprotodontids are herbivorous, although some eat insects and nectar and a few extinct ones were carnivores.
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
Kangaroos and wallabies
Yellow-bellied glider (species)
Grey cuscuses (genus)
Koala (species)Diprotodontia ( /daɪˌproʊtɵˈdɒnʃⁱə/; Greek: διπρωτός diprotos, meaning "two front" and οδοντος odontos meaning "teeth") is a large order of about 120 marsupial mammals including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the rhinoceros-sized Diprotodon, and Thylacoleo, the so-called "marsupial lion".
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
