#diprotodontia

[mammalianmammals]

Honey Possum or Noolbenger (Tarsipes rostratus) feeding on nectar, looking for nectar... family Tarsipedidae, order Diprotodontia, found in SW Western Australia

One of the world's smallest marsupials, weighing only 7 - 16g.

photograph by Adam Fry

[all-mammal-creechur]

Herbert River Ringtail Possum Pseudochirulus herbertensis

A species of possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. The Herbert River ringtail's diet mainly consists of leaves with high levels of protein. This makes them vulnerable to climate change, since when CO2 levels increase, it leads to a change in the metabolic process of trees thus "chang[ing] the balance of protein in their leaves" and leading to an increase in production of tannins by the tree.

image by Cameron de Jong

[snototter]

A southern greater glider (Petauroides volans) perches in a tree in Queensland, Australia

by Harry Gordon

[life-on-our-planet]

The honey possum, also called a noolbenger, is the only flightless animal that feeds exclusively on nectar and pollen. As such it’s an important pollinator in the grasslands of southern Australia. Grassland Films

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

just saw the wikipedia page for a dusky pademelon and i am entranced. they are so polite looking

They really are! They don't have an inaturalist page so I'll use the wikimedia commons photos.

Have you seen the dusky pademelon (Thylogale brunii)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onMay 5

Photos by Cep Budhi Darma.

[alphynix]

Protemnodon viator was a large macropod that lived in what is now western and southern Australia during the late Pleistocene, around 50,000 years ago.

Although it was built more like a giant wallaby, ancient mitochondrial DNA has shown that its closest living relatives are actually modern grey kangaroos.

Estimated to have weighed about 170kg (~375lbs) – twice as much as the largest modern red kangaroos – it would have stood up to 2.4m tall (~8') on its hind legs. But unlike its living relatives Protemnodon's limb proportions indicate it wasn't a very efficient bipedal hopper, instead probably mostly moving with a bounding or galloping quadrupedal gait.

Its forelimb anatomy also suggests it was a good digger, and strongly curved claws on its hind feet may have helped provide grip on uneven ground.

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NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Llamas, Bastien, et al. "Late Pleistocene Australian marsupial DNA clarifies the affinities of extinct megafaunal kangaroos and wallabies." Molecular Biology and Evolution 32.3 (2015): 574-584. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msu338

Jones, Billie, and Christine M. Janis. "Hop, walk or bound? Limb proportions in kangaroos and the probable locomotion of the extinct genus Protemnodon." Journal of Mammalian Evolution 31.2 (2024): 26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-024-09725-4

Kerr, Isaac A. R., et al. "Systematics and palaeobiology of kangaroos of the late Cenozoic genus Protemnodon (Marsupialia, Macropodidae)." Megataxa 11.1 (2024): 1-261. https://doi.org/10.11646/megataxa.11.1.1

Wikipedia contributors. “Protemnodon” Wikipedia, 25 May 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protemnodon

[saritawolf]

Matschie's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) - (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

It should be pretty easy to figure out where tree kangaroos spend most of their time! Although they are true kangaroos, just like its bigger and more famous cousins, members of the genus Dendrolagus have evolved for an arboral life, which include a larger tail for balance and longer hind feet to better climb trees with. Because of these adaptations, tree kangaroos are capable of leaping over 60 ft (18 m) from the tree tops to the ground!

(Image: A Bennett's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus) by Bill Hatcher)