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 changes since the colonisation of Australia, especially the long-footed potoroo ''
Potorous longipes'' (
endangered) and ''
P. gilbertii'' (
critically endangered). The broad-faced potoroo ''
P. platyops'' disappeared after its first description in the 19th century. The main threats are predation by
introduced species (especially foxes) and
habitat loss.
Potoroos were formerly very common in Australia, and early settlers reported them as being significant pests to their crops.
Status
Gilbert's potoroo was first described in the
West in 1840 by naturalist
John Gilbert. It was then thought to have become extinct until being rediscovered in 1994 at the
Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve (near
Albany) in
Western Australia. Conservation efforts have grown an initial wild population of 30-40 to over 100. All species of ''Potorous'' are well within the "critical weight range" for mammals in Australia, those weighing from 35 to 4200 g whose trajectory was toward decline or extinction during British settlement.
Taxonomy
A genus of smaller
macropodid
Macropodidae is a family of marsupials that includes kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons, quokkas, and several other groups. These genera are allied to the suborder Macropodiformes, containing other macropods, and ar ...
s, it gives its name to the family
Potoroidae. The species of ''Potorous'' have been greatly impacted or become extinct since their first descriptions, which has presented difficulties in determining the diversity of the genus. The number of species described by 1888 was five, when a revision by
Oldfield Thomas merged this to three species.
The genus was named ''Potorous'' by
Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest
Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest (6 March 1784 – 4 June 1838) was a French zoologist and author. He was the son of Nicolas Desmarest and father of Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest. Desmarest was a disciple of Georges Cuvier and Alexandre ...
in 1804, an epithet that was replaced by
Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger (19 November 1775 – 10 May 1813) was a German entomologist and zoologist.
Illiger was the son of a merchant in Braunschweig. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological colle ...
with the name ''Hypsiprymnus'' and cited by subsequent authors despite the protest of Desmarest. Oldfield Thomas saw no basis for this substitution and recognised ''Potorous'' in 1888.
The common names for the species include rat-kangaroo, kangaroo rat, and potoroo.
Classification
The genus is allied with the extant ''
Bettongia
Bettongs, species of the genus ''Bettongia'', are potoroine marsupials once common in Australia. They are important ecosystem engineers displaced during the colonisation of the continent, and are vulnerable to threatening factors such as alte ...
'' and ''
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 ...
'', which along with the family
Hypsiprymnodontidae
The Hypsiprymnodontidae are a family of macropods, one of two families containing animals commonly referred to as rat-kangaroos. The single known extant genus and species in this family, the musky rat-kangaroo, ''Hypsiprymnodon moschatus'', oc ...
, are informally grouped as the 'rat-kangaroos' of the suborder
Macropodiformes.
A conservative arrangement with allied modern and fossil genera 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 ...
:* subfamily
Potoroinae
::* 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
Bettongs, species of the genus ''Bettongia'', are potoroine marsupials once common in Australia. They are important ecosystem engineers displaced during the colonisation of the continent, and are vulnerable to threatening factors such as alte ...
''
::* genus †''
Borungaboodie
''Borungaboodie'' is an extinct genus of potoroo that lived in Southwest Australia during the Pleistocene. The genus is represented by a single species known as ''Borungaboodie hatcheri'', or more informally, the giant potoroo.
Discovery and nam ...
''
::* genus †''
Milliyowi''
::* genus ''
Caloprymnus'' † modern extinction
::* genus ''
Potorous''
:::* ''
P. gilbertii'' Gilbert's potoroo
:::* ''
P. longipes'' Long-footed potoroo
:::* ''
P. platyops'' Broad-faced potoroo, † modern extinction
:::* ''
P. tridactylus'' Long-nosed potoroo
::* 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 ...
Description
The long-nosed potoroo sniffs the ground with a side to side motion near the vicinity of food. Once the long-nosed potoroo has located a possible food source (with its sense of smell), it positions itself to begin excavating with its fore paws.
[Vernes, K., & Jarman, P. (2014). Long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) behaviour and handling times when foraging for buried truffles. Australian Mammalogy, 36(1), 128. doi:10.1071/am13037]
The skull of potoroos may be either narrow and elongated, as in the extant ''P. gilbertii'', ''P. longipes'', ''P. tridactylus'', or broad and flattened, a feature of the extinct ''P. platyops''.
An
external occipital crest is strongly defined, particularly in the males, and there is no apparent
sagittal crest
A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull (at the sagittal suture) of many mammalian and reptilian skulls, among others. The presence of this ridge of bone indicates that there are exceptiona ...
in the species cranial morphology.
''Potorous'' skulls have shallow and flattened
auditory bullae
The tympanic part of the temporal bone is a curved plate of bone lying below the squamous part of the temporal bone, in front of the mastoid process, and surrounding the external part of the ear canal.
It originates as a separate bone (tympanic b ...
.
The dentition is distinguished by sharp and strong canines, the broad permanent premolars are long and low with a profile that is serrated, concave, or horizontal at the cutting edge.
An acutely pointed incisor extends from the long and narrow lower mandible.
The
dental formula of the genus is the same as other potoroid taxa: I3/1 C1/0 PM1/1 M4/4.
Two premolars in juveniles are replaced by a permanent
sectorial premolar.
In popular culture
The first depiction of a potoroo species was published in 1790 by
John White in his ''Journal of a Voyage to Botany Bay'', the caption describing the animal as a "Poto Roo". The artwork was produced by
Sarah Stone.
A villainous potoroo named
Pinstripe
Pinstripes are a pattern of very thin stripes of any color running in parallel. The pattern is often found in fashion.
The pinstripe is often compared to the similar chalk stripe. Pinstripes are very thin, often in width, and are created with ...
is a recurring character in the ''
Crash Bandicoot
''Crash Bandicoot'' is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series co ...
'' video game series.
A potoroo in the Australian television series,
''Bluey'', episode, "The Creek", is also featured in the children's book ''Bluey: The Creek'' (2020, Ludo Studio, BBC Studios, Puffin Books).
References
External links
*http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Potorous.html
*http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/bioinformatics/mammals/images/longlive.htm
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1475146
Potoroids
Marsupials of Australia
Taxa named by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest