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| Common Name: | Musky Rat-kangaroo | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name: | Hypsiprymnodon moschatus | ||||||||||||||||
| Family: | Potoroidae | ||||||||||||||||
| Colour: | The Musky Rat-kangaroo is rich brown peppered with dark brown hairs above, while underneath is lighter. Its head is grey-brown in colour, while the tail is dark brown. |
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| Form: | The Musky-Rat-kangaroo is a rabbit-sized mrsupial and is the smallest macropod. It has five toes on its hindfoot. The tail is naked and scaly. | ||||||||||||||||
| Distribution: | Found in north-eastern Queensland from Townsville to Mosman. | ||||||||||||||||
| Habitat: | It occurs in tropical rainforest on the caostal side of the Great Dividing Range. | ||||||||||||||||
| Nests: | Its nest consists of dried leaves and ferns often in a clump of lawyer vine. | ||||||||||||||||
| Food: | The Musky Rat-kangaroo fedds on the fruits of rainforest trees and small invertebrates found in the leaft litter of the forest floor. | ||||||||||||||||
| Predators: | Dingo | ||||||||||||||||
| Human Influence: | Unknown, but its range is restricted and therefore threatened. | ||||||||||||||||
| Abundance: | Although common across its range, it does have a restricted distribution. | ||||||||||||||||
| Features: | The Musky Rat-kangaroo is diurnal, coming out during the daytime. It is mostly terrestrial, mving around on the rainforest floor. Unlike most other macropods, it moves around on its four legs. When has a bounding gait if moving quickly. The Musky Rat-kangaroo has a simple stomach that is not adapted to a cellulose diet. | ||||||||||||||||
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