Kangaroos and Wallaby

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Subclass: Marsupialia

Order: Diprotodontia

Suborder: Macropodiformes

Family: Macropodidae

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (meaning 'large foot'). Its common to use the term to describe the largest species from this family, the Red or Grey Kangaroo.

2 Major external features that suggest that this is a Mammal are:

• 1. External fur coat. All land mammals in general have external fur or hair covering to varying degrees. Some animals may have lost majority of hair coverage owing to the environment it has adapted to.

  2. External pair of ears. All land mammals have an external pair of ears. Some aquatic mammals may have reduced ear lobes but nevertheless still possess an external ear which maybe streamlined with the head.

All female marsupials posses a special membrane like pouch called the marsupium in which joeys (baby fetus kangaroos) complete their development stage.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Infraclass: Marsupialia

Order: Diprotodontia

Suborder: Macropodiformes

Family: Macropodidae

Closely related to the Kangaroo but are much smaller and varied in size and color across Australia. Wallabies and Kangaroos belongs to the class macropods (meaning large footed) and are native Australia even though certain breeding populations have been established oversees (England, Scotland)

While some species of Wallabies out number the human population in Australia, others are on the endangered list and can sometimes be considered a pest as they invade farm lands in search of food.