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Australian Wildlife

  Musky Rat Kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus)





Musky Rat Kangaroo | Hypsiprymnodon moschatus photo
Musky rat-kangaroo in Queensland, Australia.

Image by user:PanBK - GNU Free Documentation License.    (view image details)







MUSKY RAT KANGAROO FACTS

Description
The Musky Rat Kangaroo is the smallest member of the kangaroo family (macropod). It is a small marsupial that looks like a miniature kangaroo. The fur is rich brown fur with some darker hairs. The head is grey brown and the tail is dark brown and covered with scales. The Musky Rat Kangaroo uses both front feet and back feet to move around - it puts weight on its front feet to pull its back feet forward as it hops.

Size
head and body length: 23cm; tail length 14cm

Habitat
rainforest near creeks and rivers. It sleeps in a nest of dried leaves and ferns

Food
fruits of rainforest trees, and also some invertebrates such as worms and insects

Breeding
Normally two young are born. The young lave the pouch after about 21 weeks

Range
northern Queensland

distribution map showing range of Hypsiprymnodon moschatus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Notes
The Musky Rat Kangaroo is dependent on the rainforest and forest clearing has a negative impact on population.



Classification
Class:Mammalia
Order:Diprotodontia
Family:Potoroidae
Genus:Hypsiprymnodon
Species:moschatus
Common Name:Musky Rat Kangaroo