Scientific classification: Kangaroos make up the two kangaroo families, Macropodidae and Potoroidae, in the order Marsupialia. The red kangaroo is classified as Macropus rufus; the two species of gray kangaroo are classified as Macropus giganteus and Macropus fuliginosus.
Introduction
The Kangaroos are common name for a group of mammals found in Australia and neighboring islands kangaroo life cycle. Kangaroos are marsupials, a type of mammal that gives birth to undeveloped young.The kangaroos and many other marsupials carry their young and nurtured in a special pouch on the mother’s body.
Diverse groupings in the kangaroo family species
More than 50 different kinds of animals are grouped together in two kangaroo families. The large kangaroos include red kangaroos and gray kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons, and quokka; they belong in the family Macropodidae. The other family, Potoroidae, is made up of assorted smaller species, such as various rat-kangaroos, bettongs, and potoroos, kangaroo life cycle. The largest kangaroos are the gray kangaroo and red kangaroo, which can stand up to 2 m (6.5 ft) tall and weigh up to 85 kg (187 lb). The smallest are the musky rat-kangaroos, ratlike animals measuring about 30 cm (12 in), not including the tail.
Habitat of Kangaroo
Kangaroos are found only in mainland Australia and New Guinea and on some of their offshore islands, such as Tasmania. A few species have been introduced to other countries, such as tammars in New Zealand and a rock wallaby in Hawaii. Kangaroos inhabit every imaginable type of habitat throughout Australia and New Guinea. Red kangaroos and gray kangaroos are found in grasslands, savannas, and open woodlands.
Physical description of Kangaroos
Most kangaroo species have large ears and relatively small heads. Their small front feet have five digits of unequal length, while the back feet typically have four digits. One of the toes on each hind foot has a sharp claw used in defense. Many species are drably colored to closely match their surroundings, kangaroo life cycle helping them to hide from predators. Males of the larger kangaroo species are noticeably bigger in size than the females, a trait known as sexual dimorphism.
A physical feature that distinguishes kangaroos from other marsupials is the adaptation of the hind legs and tail for hopping. In red kangaroos, for example, the hind legs are very large roughly ten times the size of the small front limbs. When moving slowly, kangaroo life cycle kangaroos use all four legs. When they need to move fast, they rise up on their muscular hind legs and start hopping.
Reproduction
Like all marsupials, kangaroos lack a true placenta, the structure in a pregnant female’s womb that provides nutrients for and removes waste from the growing embryo. Instead of a fully developed placenta, kangaroo females form a type of yolk sac in the womb. The embryo absorbs nutrients from this yolk sac for four to five weeks and then emerges from the birth canal, still in an embryo-like form but with well-developed forelimbs. The tiny animal, kangaroo life cycle weighing about 1 g (0.04 oz), crawls along its mother’s body and into an abdominal pouch. Once inside, the offspring attaches firmly to a nipple, suckling milk. It remains there for several months until it is more fully formed and can move about on its own. The young kangaroo, sometimes called a joey, may remain with the mother, climbing into her pouch for nourishment or safety, until it is more than a year old.