Parma Wallaby (Macropus parma) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics

Body measurements

Size (Ganslosser 1990; Maynes 1976; Maynes 1977b; Menkhorst & Knight 2011)

• Notable for its small size
• Smallest member of the genus Macropus
• Size differs between Australian and Kawau populations
  • Adult females: individuals from Australia significantly larger than individuals from Kawau in all measurements and weight
  • Adult males: individuals from Australia only larger in ear length

Appearance (Hume et al. 1989; Maynes 2008; Menkhorst & Knight 2011)

• Shape - similar to other species of Macropus:
  • Head - relatively small
  • Forelimbs - short, thin
  • Body - long
  • Hindquarters - large
  • Hind limbs and feet - long, powerful
  • Tail - about same length as head + body (Maynes 2008)
• Skin and pelage
  • Dark reddish brown to grizzled gray-brown
  • White throat and upper chest; remaining underparts grayish
  • Narrow dark strip along spine, from forehead to mid-back
  • Grayer on face
    • White stripe along upper lip, extending to below eye
    • White fringe around base of ear
  • Tail blackish, thin fur; white-tipped in about half of individuals

Size difference between the sexes (Hume et al. 1989)

• Present but less pronounced than in most macropods
  • Male is larger than female by about 8% in most length measurements
  • Male weighs about 30% more than female
  • Male has more robust chest
  • Male forelimbs are much larger (by about 18.5%) and more robust - useful during mating

Few specifics for the parma wallaby available in scientific literature - information below highlights some common features found in macropods

• Teeth (Lentle et al. 2003)
  • Challenge - grasses contain silica, which is harder than tooth enamel
  • Tooth form and function in grazing kangaroos show adaptations to cope with diet of grasses
    • Cutting teeth - designed to crop many blades at once
      • 6 incisors on a long upper jaw are aligned to form continuous cutting edge
      • 2 blade-like lower incisors angle forward from a shorter lower jaw, press against tough pad on roof of mouth behind upper incisors
    • Canine teeth - none
      • Large diastema (gap)
      • Allows tongue to arrange cut grass into packages that can be moved backward for chewing
    • Grinding teeth - replaceable
      • Molars high-crowned (tall), wear down with use
      • Molar progression (serial replacement - also seen in elephants)
        • Premolars and molars erupt from front to back in slow succession as animal grows
        • Older teeth in front used for grinding - wear down, are shed
        • Newer teeth move forward along jaw to replace them
        • Provides kangaroos with effective grinding teeth throughout life, instead of a single set that gets uniformly worn down

• Senses & nervous system (Miller 2001)
  • Macropods have well-developed senses of smell, touch, and hearing
    • Ears can be rotated independently
  • Vision less well-developed
• Digestive system (Jackson & Vernes 2011; Miller 2001)
  • Complex 3-chambered stomach
  • Foregut bacterial fermentation
    • Bacteria used to break down hard-to-digest plant material
• Urogenital system (Maynes 1973; Menkhorst & Knight 2011; Tyndale-Biscoe & Renfree 1987)
  • Urine and feces released from cloaca (single posterior opening)
  • Female reproductive organs in macropods
    • 2 ovaries, 2 oviducts, 2 separate uteruses
    • 3 vaginas open into a shared urogenital sinus
      • 2 lateral vaginas through which sperm travels up to each uterus
      • 1 central birth canal (transient in some marsupials, remains open in most macropods)
    • Forward-facing pouch, 4 functional teats
  • Male reproductive organs in macropods
    • 2 testes, 2 epididymides, 2 vas deferentia
      • Testes carried in external scrotum in front of the penis
      • Parma wallaby testes descend into scrotum by about 91 days after birth
    • Prostate and bulbourethral glands are the only accessory male sex organs

The parma wallaby has a small body and a long tail. They have white on their chest and muzzle.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Ganslosser (1990)
Hume et al. (1989)
Jackson & Vernes (2011)
Kar et al. (2003)
Lentle et al. (2003)
Maynes (2008)
Menkhorst & Knight (2011)
Miller (2001)
Tyndale-Biscoe & Renfree (1987)