Red-necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) Fact Sheet: Summary

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Diprotodontia - koalas, wombats, possums, macropods (kangaroos, tree kangaroos, wallaroos, etc.)

Family: Macropodidae - kangaroos, wallabies

Genus: Macropus

Species: Macropus rufogriseus (Desmarest, 1817) - red-necked wallaby

Subspecies: M. r. banksianus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1825) - red wallaby
Subspecies: M. r. fruticus (Ogilby, 1838)
Subspecies: M. r. rufogriseus (Desmarest, 1817) - Bennett's wallaby

Body Weight
Male: M. r. banksianus: 15-23.7 kg (33.1-52.2 lb); M. r. rufogriseus: 15-26.8 kg (33.1- 59.1 lb)
Female: M. r. banksianus: 12-15.5 kg (26.5-34.2 lb); M. r. rufogriseus: 11-15.5 kg (24.3-34.2 lb)

Head-body Length
Male: M. r. banksianus: 770-888 mm (2.5-2.9 ft); M. r. rufogriseus: 712-923 mm (2.3-3 ft)
Female: M. r. banksianus: 708-837mm (2.3-2.8 ft); M. r. rufogriseus: 659-741 mm (2.2-2.4 ft)

Tail Length
Male: M. r. banksianus: 703-876 mm (2.3-2.9 ft); M. r. rufogriseus: 691-862 mm (2.3-2.8 ft)
Female: M. r. banksianus: 664-790 mm (2.2-2.6 ft); M. r. rufogriseus: 623-778 mm (2.0-2.6 ft)

Pelage
Gray, red, and brown on body; white and gray on belly. Australian populations have short, coarse fur. Tasmanian populations have longer, shaggy fur.

Range
Southeastern Australia and Tasmania

Habitat
Eucalyptus forests with grasses and shrubs making up the understory

IUCN Status
Least Concern (2015 assessment)

CITES Appendix
Not listed

Population in Wild
Stable. Very common in Tasmania. Mixture of decreasing and increasing populations in mainland Australia.

Locomotion
Two- and four-legged hopping; sometimes use tail as a "fifth support limb." Good swimmers; doggie paddle.

Activity Cycle
Active at night, dawn, and dusk. Daytime hours spent resting.

Social Groups
Found singly or in small groups; often solitary.

Diet
Primarily, grasses, leaves, forbs. Some fruit, ferns, and fungi. Often feed in high elevation areas.

Predators
Dingos, raptors, and humans

Sexual Maturity
Females: from 13 months
Males: from 19 months

Gestation
About 30 days (range: 29-41)

Litter Size
Typically 1

Interbirth Interval
Another birth occurs 16-29 days after the young permanently leaves the pouch.

Birth Weight
Less than 1 g (0.04 oz)

Age at Weaning
14-17 months

Typical Life Expectancy
Managed care: median life expectancy of about 5 years

Feature Facts

• Many Bennett's wallaby bones found in Tasmanian caves; hunted by early humans
• Wild populations reintroduced to New Zealand
• Group dynamics very fluid
• Communicate using their ears, narrow set of vocalizations (growl, hiss, cough, cluck), and scent marking
• Reproduce efficiently; easily bred in managed care
• Young first emerge from pouch at about seven months old
• Adult males can be up to twice as large as females
• Like other macropods, develop and lose four sets of molar teeth over a lifetime; teeth wear down from eating tough plants
• Tasmanian Wolves and Marsupial Lions were Ice Age (Pleistocene Era) predators of this species
• Commercially harvested; ranchers and farmers sometimes perceive these wallabies as a threat to crops and sheep food supplies in pastures