Scientific name:
Potoroidae

Natural spread:
Europe, Asia, Australia

the Ãœberfamilie of the kangaroos besides the actual kangaroos (Macropodidae) contains also the rat-kangaroos, who got its name, because some remind of big rats with fleeting look. However, one could confuse it with Nasenbeutlern (Peramelidae) also on the first gaze.

Shape Rat-kangaroos have the size of rabbits approximately. its head usually is relatively short, its muzzle pointed. The middle-long ears can in a round shape or is sharpened. All types have a hairy tail, that is used for writing down by Nestbaumaterial with some as gripping-organ. The hind legs are with the width-head - and the rabbit-kangaroos relatively short; therefore, they appear quite similarly to some bag-badgers. they run also like these on all four. The hind legs of the remaining rat-kangaroos are clearly extended on the other hand. they jump even with slow locomotion as one knows it broadly from kangaroos. The big-toe of the rear-feet always is missing. At the fore limbs, the claws of the middle toes are especially long.

Way of life The rat-kangaroos are pure ground-animals with nightly way of life. they lived in all the area of Australia besides the dense tropical rain-forest earlier. During the day, they sleep in self-built grass-nests, in covered flat hollows, how some Nasenbeutler, or in Erdhöhlen. Brush-kangaroos and big-rat-kangaroos, who build itself nests, collect grass with the tail. At first, they grasp it with the front-paws and push it between the hind legs; the tail is rolled up downward, grasps the bundle and holds on to it.

Nutrition As predominant herbivores, roots, fungi and bark, live rat-kangaroos above all from grass, herbs, for itself, however, also considerable quantities of animal food take to itself. Examinations at rabbit-kangaroos showed that they frequently eat insects particularly in the spring. its stomach-content can then consist of insects up to 40 percent. As already the quadruped running, so also this inclination to the assorted nutrition shows that the rat-kangaroos are a very original group of the kangaroos.

Endangering The European settlers brought besides its pets also game-animals of its former home and abandoned it in Australia. In many cases, they created a serious danger for the native wildlife through it. The rat-kangaroos are a very much threatened animal-group. Above all foxes and neglected house-cats follow them. A large number of them falls victim to the frequently put bush-fires, and many types are out wiped in large sharing of its original spread-area today.