Red-necked Pademelon
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The red-necked pademelon (''Thylogale thetis'') is a
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
-dwelling
marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...
living in the eastern coastal region of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
between extreme south-east Queensland and central eastern New South Wales.


Description

A small species of macropod, it has a head and body length of 29–62 cm, a tail length of 27–51 cm and mean weight of 3.8 kg for females and 7.0 kg for males. Mainly
crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine (biology), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnalit ...
, the red-necked pademelon is very shy and generally inhabits temperate forests near grassland, hiding in the forests by day and emerging into the grasslands to graze in the dusk. The red-necked pademelon is brown-grey with a cream underbelly and a red-tinted neck and shoulders. It breeds in the autumn and spring in northern Australia, and in the summer in southern Australia. Predators include the dingo and the
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...
, however
habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
, particularly through land clearance, is currently the largest threat to the species. The red-necked pademelon is not currently listed as an
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
. This species is closely related to the red-legged pademelon.


References


External links

Macropods Marsupials of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Queensland Mammals described in 1828 Taxa named by René Lesson {{Diprotodont-stub