The musky rat kangaroo is about 23 cm long with dark brown fur. Some of the special adaptations that this animal has are that they have a pouch on their stomach for holding their young. Also they have large feet and back legs to help them jump. This animal is identifiable by the way it walks like a kangaroo. It is also identifiable by its dark brown color and large back feet.

 

The part that the musky rat kangaroo plays in the environment is that it helps rainforest plants to spread seeds. They do well in the tropical part of Australia because they prefer to live in wet climates like nearby creeks and streams. They are only found in the tropical part of Australia.

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There are about 3 musky rat kangaroos for every 6 acres of land. There population numbers fluctuate depending to the amount of fruit available to them. They are not endangered and if their numbers stay constant they shouldn't be. Their role in the food web is to eat fruits and seeds and disperse the seeds throughout the jungle. Also the musky rat kangaroo supports at least eight predatory species like pythons, dingoes, and predatory birds.

 

Its front teeth allow it to eat insects and its daytime foraging times allow it to forage during the day. They compete with insectivorous birds and frogs for insects. They also compete with other plant eating rats and birds. Snakes, predatory birds, cats, dogs, and dingoes all prey on the musky rat kangaroo. It primarily evades being eaten by jumping away when a predator is sensed nearby.

 

There are many interesting facts about this animal. It is the world's smallest kangaroo. It has a pouch just like a kangaroo and it also walks like one. The musky rat kangaroo used to belong to the Potoroidae family but was changed to a family of its own, Hypsiprymnodontidae. I learned many important facts about the musky rat kangaroo.

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Author: Ethan B

Published: 02/2007

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Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsiprymnodontidae http://rainforest-australia.com/Musky-rat_Kangaroo_Information.htm http://www.wettropics.gov.au/st/rainforest_explorer/Resources/Images/ animals/mammals/muskyRatRoo.jpg http://www.wettropics.gov.au/pa/pa_ground_species.html http://www.davewattsphoto.com/assets/images/australianmammals/ amfullsize/am14.jpg

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Photo Credit: 16:27, 26 January 2006 . . PanBK (Talk | contribs) . . 3038×2012 (620,476 bytes) (Musky rat-kangaroo in Queensland, Australia. Picture taken in December 2005.