The Tasmanian pademelon (''Thylogale billardierii''), also known as the rufous-bellied pademelon or red-bellied pademelon, is the sole species of pademelon found in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, and was formerly found throughout southeastern Australia. This pademelon has developed heavier and bushier fur than its northern relatives, which inhabit northern

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 ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. The scientific name honours J.J.H. Labillardier, who collected the first specimen on an expedition to what was then

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

in 1792. There are no recognised subspecies.

Description

The Tasmanian pademelon has a compact body with short, rounded, ears, thick fur over the limbs, head, and body and a tail covered with short hairs. It has greyish fur over most of the body with yellowish to rufous underparts, and, unlike most other pademelons, has no distinct facial or hip markings. Males reach around in weight, in length including the tail, and are considerably larger than the females, which average . Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) Esk Valley 2.jpg, Upper Esk Valley, Tasmania Tasmanian-pademelon-and-joey.jpg, Female and her joey

Distribution and habitat

Pademelons are abundant and widespread across mainland Tasmania, and are also found on the nearby

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and Furneaux Islands. They were formerly distributed throughout southeastern Australia, including areas south of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

in Victoria and the Limestone Coast of South Australia until the 19th century when it was extirpated from the mainland due mainly to habitat loss and predation by introduced

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 ...

es.

Rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

, sclerophyll

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, ...

, and

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

are preferred, although wet gullies in dry open

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

forest are also used. Such places, next to open areas where feeding can occur, are especially favoured.

Diet and ecology

The Tasmanian pademelon is a

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...

feeding on a wide variety of plants, from herbs, green shoots and grass, to some nectar-bearing flowers. Once a part of the diet of the

thylacine The thylacine (; binomial name ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmani ...

, the Tasmanian pademelon is still preyed upon by other predators of the island, including Tasmanian devils, quolls, and eagles, as well as dogs and feral cats. Even so, they are abundant to the point of being culled occasionally (along with other wallabies) to reduce competition for grass with the farmed animals. Hunting of the Tasmanian pademelon is allowed, its pelt having some economic value and its meat being palatable.

Behaviour

Pademelons are solitary and nocturnal, spending the daylight hours in thick vegetation. After dusk, the animals move onto open areas to feed, but rarely stray more than 100 metres from the forest edge. Adults have been recorded to make growling sounds during aggressive interactions, and clucking noises at other times, such as when mothers are calling to their young or males are pursuing females. They have also been reported to engage in grass-pulling behaviour, possibly as a visual signal to other members of the species. This involves standing upright, pulling up clumps of grass and throwing them against their chest. Males engage in ritualised bouts of combat to determine dominance; these are similar to those of other macropodids, including the "boxing" behaviour seen in kangaroos. Both sexes groom themselves by scratching their head and shoulders with their hind feet for up to ten minutes at a time, and mothers also groom their young for a brief time after they first emerge from the pouch.

Reproduction

There is no specific breeding season, but most pademelon births seem to occur in the autumn. Males regularly sniff the females in their range, and pursue them if they are receptive, which they remain only for around 24 hours at a time. Copulation can be lengthy, consisting of several bouts, with the animals resting for up to 15 minutes between each session.

Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

lasts 30 days. The young measure around in total length at birth, and rapidly move to the pouch, where they attach to one of the four teats. They grow relatively slowly compared with other marsupials of their size, opening their eyes between weeks 18 and 20, and first developing fur between weeks 20 and 22. They are fully furred by around 160 days, at which point they first begin to poke their head out of the pouch. The first full emergence from the pouch can occur from this time up until around 190 days of age, although they continue to suckle for another three months, after which the mother becomes aggressive towards them. The mother often gives birth to a second joey while still nursing an older one that has already left the pouch, and typically gives birth to 1.3 young per year. Joeys are sexually mature at 17 months for males or 13 months for females. Lifespan in the wild is unknown, but has been estimated to be between 5 and 6 years.AustralianFauna.com
article on the Tasmanian pademelon

References

External links

{{Authority control Macropods Endemic fauna of Australia Marsupials of Australia Mammals of Tasmania Mammals of Victoria (state) Extinct mammals of South Australia Least concern biota of Australia Mammals described in 1822 Taxa named by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest