Share this Article on Facebook Twitter Submit this article to Reddit Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

kangaroo

kangaroo

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

kangaroo name for a variety of hopping marsupials , or pouched mammals, of the family Macropodidae, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The term is applied especially to the large kangaroos of the genus Macropus. Kangaroos have powerful hind legs designed for leaping, long feet, short forelimbs, and long muscular tails. The hind legs are also used to deliver blows at enemies when the animal is cornered; the feet are sharply clawed. The tail serves as a balance when the animal leaps and as a prop when it stands; the usual posture is bipedal. The handlike forepaws are used for grasping. As in most marsupials, females have a pouch surrounding the teats. The single young is born in an immature state after a gestation period of about 40 days and is suckled in the mother's pouch for about six months. After it begins to graze it returns frequently to the pouch for shelter and transport until it is too large to be carried. Kangaroos feed on grass and other vegetation; they are the chief grazers of the Australian plains. Day-active animals, they move about in herds called mobs and sleep on the ground at night. Males are called boomers, females flyers; the young are called joeys. Because many types of kangaroo have valuable hides, and because they compete with domestic livestock for grazing land, kangaroos have been extensively hunted and are now extremely reduced in numbers.

Types of Kangaroos

The largest kangaroo, and largest of all marsupials, is the great red kangaroo, M. rufus, which inhabits the inland plains of Australia. Males of this species may be over 7 ft (210 cm) tall and weigh over 200 lbs (90 kg). They are bright maroon in color, with white faces and underparts. Females, called blue flyers, are blue-gray; smaller and faster than the males, they may achieve speeds of 30 mi (48 km) per hr. The great gray kangaroo, M. canguru, is almost as large; it is found in open forest areas of E and W Australia and in Tasmania. A related kangaroo, M. robustus, is known as the wallaroo and inhabits rocky hills throughout most of the continent.

Smaller, but quite similar in appearance and behavior, are members of the kangaroo family called wallabies and pademelons, of which there are many species, classified in several genera. Some of these are plains dwellers, others live among rocks or in scrub country; most are about the size of a rabbit. Of similar size are the tree and rat kangaroos. Tree kangaroos, species of the genus Dendrolagus, are the only arboreal members of the family. Found in the rain forests of New Guinea and N Australia, they climb well and can leap from branch to branch. Rat kangaroos are omnivorous animals of ratlike appearance. They feed largely on roots and fungi; members of many species live in burrows. They are classified in several genera and are distributed throughout the Australian region.

Classification

They are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Marsupialia, family Macropodidae.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"kangaroo." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"kangaroo." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-kangaroo.html

"kangaroo." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

kangaroo

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

kangaroo Marsupial found only in Australia, New Guinea and adjacent islands. The three main types are the grey kangaroo, the red kangaroo and the wallaroo, or euro. The thick, coarse fur is red, brown, grey or black. The front legs are small, the hind legs long and used in leaping. Height: to 1.8m (6ft) at the shoulder; weight: to 70kg (154lb). Family Macropodidae, genus Macropus.
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"kangaroo." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"kangaroo." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-kangaroo.html

"kangaroo." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

kangaroo

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

kan·ga·roo / ˌkanggəˈroō/ • n. a large plant-eating macropod (genus Macropus, family Macropodidae) with a long powerful tail and strongly developed hind limbs that enable it to travel by leaping, found only in Australia and New Guinea. ORIGIN: late 18th cent.: from an Aboriginal language.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"kangaroo." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"kangaroo." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-kangaroo.html

"kangaroo." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

Kangaroo

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Kangaroo (1923), a novel by D. H. Lawrence, based on the Lawrences' visit to Australia in 1922. The book mingles political outbursts and meditations with observant evocation of Australian life and landscape.
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Kangaroo." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Kangaroo." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Kangaroo.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Kangaroo." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

kangaroo

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

kangaroo XVIII. Said by Capt. James Cook (1770) and Joseph Banks (1770) to have been a native Australian name (kangooroo), which is supported by some later writers, but denied by others.
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

T. F. HOAD. "kangaroo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "kangaroo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-kangaroo.html

T. F. HOAD. "kangaroo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

kangaroo

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

kangaroo See MACROPODIDAE.
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

MICHAEL ALLABY. "kangaroo." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "kangaroo." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-kangaroo.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "kangaroo." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

kangaroo

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

kangaroo •accrue, adieu, ado, anew, Anjou, aperçu, askew, ballyhoo, bamboo, bedew, bestrew, billet-doux, blew, blue, boo, boohoo, brew, buckaroo, canoe, chew, clew, clou, clue, cock-a-doodle-doo, cockatoo, construe, coo, Corfu, coup, crew, Crewe, cru, cue, déjà vu, derring-do, dew, didgeridoo, do, drew, due, endue, ensue, eschew, feu, few, flew, flu, flue, foreknew, glue, gnu, goo, grew, halloo, hereto, hew, Hindu, hitherto, how-do-you-do, hue, Hugh, hullabaloo, imbrue, imbue, jackaroo, Jew, kangaroo, Karroo, Kathmandu, kazoo, Kiangsu, knew, Kru, K2, kung fu, Lahu, Lanzhou, Lao-tzu, lasso, lieu, loo, Lou, Manchu, mangetout, mew, misconstrue, miscue, moo, moue, mu, nardoo, new, non-U, nu, ooh, outdo, outflew, outgrew, peekaboo, Peru, pew, plew, Poitou, pooh, pooh-pooh, potoroo, pursue, queue, revue, roo, roux, rue, screw, Selous, set-to, shampoo, shih-tzu, shoe, shoo, shrew, Sioux, skean dhu, skew, skidoo, slew, smew, snafu, sou, spew, sprue, stew, strew, subdue, sue, switcheroo, taboo, tattoo, thereto, thew, threw, thro, through, thru, tickety-boo, Timbuktu, tiramisu, to, to-do, too, toodle-oo, true, true-blue, tu-whit tu-whoo, two, vendue, view, vindaloo, virtu, wahoo, wallaroo, Waterloo, well-to-do, whereto, whew, who, withdrew, woo, Wu, yew, you, zoo

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"kangaroo." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"kangaroo." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-kangaroo.html

"kangaroo." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-kangaroo.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Kangaroo holding beyond the NICU.(Updates & Kidbits)(neonatal intensive care...
Magazine article from: Pediatric Nursing; 1/1/2005
Kangaroo care popular in suburban nurseries.(Special Sections)
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 3/24/2010
Kangaroos can reduce environmental impact of farming: study.
News Wire article from: PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd.; 4/16/2009

Facts and information from other sites

kangaroo images
kangaroo. (Image by Fir0002, GFDL)

Related topics