Family Potoroidae

Potoroids are smaller macropods and were once called the rat-kangaroos. Some, such as the Musky Rat-kangaroo (Hypsipymnodon moschatus) of the north Queensland rainforests are no bigger than a rat, and others grow to the size of a rabbit. Potoroids have an unusual diet – of mushrooms, roots, and insects. Mostly, they live in dense undergrowth and make nests from material carried by curling their tails around it. An exception is the Desert Rat-kangaroo. Even though it has not been seen since 1935, the Desert Rat-kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) lived in one of the hottest, driest and most exposed areas in Central Australia.Many of these small species have been badly affected by European settlement. Their preferred habitat has often been cleared for farming, and they have had to deal with the effects of many introduced animals, such as the fox, the cat and the rabbit. Two species of potoroids (there are nine known in all) are already extinct. Two more now survive only on coastal islands and another is rare. Read the rest of this entry »