| Bettongs[1] | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Eastern bettong | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Potoroidae |
| Subfamily: | Potoroinae |
| Genus: | Bettongia Gray, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Bettongia setosa Gray, 1837 |
|
| Species | |
The bettongs are species of the genus Bettongia, sometimes referred to as rat-kangaroos. Four extant species are recognised:[1]
- Eastern bettong, Bettongia gaimardi, also known as the Tasmanian bettong
- Boodie, Bettongia lesueur
- Woylie, Bettongia penicillata
- Northern bettong, Bettongia tropica
In addition, at least two extinct species are known:
- Bettongia moyesi, Middle Miocene bettong from Riversleigh[2]
- Nullarbor dwarf bettong, †Bettongia pusilla, known only from the fossil record
The rufous rat-kangaroo (Aepyprymnus rufescens) is sometimes referred to as a bettong (rufous bettong), but this is not strictly correct.
References[edit]
- ^ a b 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. pp. 57–58. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Flannery, T.F. and Archer, M, 1987. Bettongia moyesi, a new and plesiomorphic kangaroo (Marsupialia: Potoridae) from Miocene sediments of northwestern Queensland. ‘Possums and Opossums: Studies in Evolution’, Pp.759–67. ed. M. Archer. Surrey Beatty & Sons and the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney pdf