Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s and the wallabies, that are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. The word "wallaroo" is from the

Dharug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...

''walaru'' with spelling influenced by the words "kangaroo" and "wallaby".

Description

Wallaroos are typically distinct species from kangaroos and wallabies. An exception is the antilopine wallaroo, which is commonly known as an antilopine kangaroo when large, an antilopine wallaby when small, or an antilopine wallaroo when of intermediate size.

Species

Wallaroo may refer to one of several species in the genus ''

Osphranter ''Osphranter'' is a genus of large marsupials in the family Macropodidae, commonly known as kangaroos and wallaroos (among other species). It contains the largest extant marsupial, the red kangaroo (''O. rufus''). In 2019, a reassessment of mac ...

'': * The common wallaroo or wallaroo (''Osphranter robustus'') is the best-known species. There are four

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the common wallaroo: the eastern wallaroo (''O. r. robustus'') and the euro (''O. r. erubescens''), which are both widespread, and two of more restricted range, one from Barrow Island (the Barrow Island wallaroo (''O. r. isabellinus'')), the other from the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region (the Kimberley wallaroo (''O. r. woodwardi'')). * The

black wallaroo The black wallaroo (''Osphranter bernardus''), also known as Woodward's wallaroo, is a species of macropod restricted to a small, mountainous area in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, between South Alligator River and Nabarlek. It cl ...

(''O. bernardus'') occupies an area of steep, rocky ground in

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

. At around in length (excluding tail) it is the smallest wallaroo and the most heavily built. Males weigh , females about . Because it is very wary and is found only in a small area of remote and very rugged country, it is little-known. * The antilopine wallaroo ''(O. antilopinus''), also known as the antilopine kangaroo or the antilopine wallaby, is a creature of the grassy plains and woodlands and is gregarious, unlike other wallaroos which are solitary.

References

External links

* * {{Diprotodontia, M. Macropods Marsupials of Australia Australian Aboriginal words and phrases Mammal common names