Quokka

Not to be confused with Quagga.

Quokka
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Subfamily: Macropodinae
Genus: Setonix
Lesson, 1842[3]
Species:
S. brachyurus
Binomial name
Setonix brachyurus
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1830)[2]
Geographic range

The quokka (/ˈkwɒkə/) (Setonix brachyurus)[4] is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. It is the only member of the genus Setonix. Like other marsupials in the macropod family (such as kangaroos and wallabies), the quokka is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal.[5]

The quokka's range is a small area of southwestern Australia. They inhabit some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, particularly Rottnest Island just off Perth and Bald Island near Albany. Isolated, scattered populations also exist in forest and coastal heath between Perth and Albany. A small colony inhabits a protected area of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, where they co-exist with the critically endangered Gilbert's potoroo.[6]

  1. ^ Burbidge, A.A. & Woinarski, J. (2020) [amended version of 2019 assessment]. "Setonix brachyurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T20165A166611530. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T20165A166611530.en. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ Quoy, [Jean René Constant]; Gaimard, [Joseph Paul] (1830). "Kangurus brachyurus". Voyage de découvertes de l'Astrolabe: Zoologie. Vol. 1. Paris: J. Tastu. pp. 114–116.
  3. ^ Lesson, R.-P. (1842). "Groupe: Setonix". Nouveau Tableau du Règne Animal: Mammifères. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. p. 194.
  4. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 69. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  5. ^ "the happiest animals on earth Quokkas". Rottnest Island Wildlife. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. ^ Sinclair, Elizabeth. "Australian endangered species: Gilbert's Potoroo". The Conversation. Retrieved 20 October 2017.