Lucky Kangaroos

LONG List of ALL 73 Kangaroo Species

What are the kangaroo species? This detailed article shows all kangaroo species in the world and describes the most important species. How many kangaroo species are there?

There are 73 species of kangaroos which are divided into kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, pademelons, tree kangaroos, rat kangaroos, bettongs, and potoroos.

various kangaroo species

The 3 Largest Kangaroo Species

The 73 kangaroo species are insanely different in size. Animals of the smallest kangaroo species grow up to 0.35 meters (13.7 in), while animals of the largest kangaroo species grow up to 2.2 meters (6.56 ft). What are the largest kangaroo species?

The three largest kangaroo species include the iconic red kangaroo, as well as the eastern and western grey kangaroos. An adult male red kangaroo stands up to 2.2 m tall (7.2 ft)

The Australian Classic: The Red Kangaroo

red kangaroo
Source: dnatheist, CC BY 2.0

Whoever speaks of kangaroos often thinks of red kangaroos (Osphranter rufus). This species inhabits the vast dry central areas of the Australian continent.

Red kangaroos live far away from Australia's largest urban areas. Therefore, only few people get to see this iconic kangaroo species in the wild.

Red kangaroos are true giants

The red kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroo species, and they are also the largest marsupials in the world. Male kangaroos of this species are up to 2,2 meters (6.56 ft) tall when standing and weigh up to 90 kg (200 lbs). Female red kangaroos are often much smaller. They weigh up to 35 kg (77 lbs).

Male and female red kangaroos are also distinguished by coat color. Males are rusty brown, females typically blue-gray.

Red kangaroos move at speeds of up to 70 km/h (44 mph). However, the typical speed is between 15 and 30 km/h (9 - 18 mph). In this article you can learn more about the habitat and feeding behavior of the red kangaroo.

It is estimated that there are about 11 million red kangaroos living in Australia.

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

eastern grey kangaroo at Murramarang National Park

Most Australians mainly see the Eastern Gray Kangaroo in the wild. This species of kangaroo prefers to inhabit the wetter eastern areas of Australia. Thus, it lives not far from the largest metropolitan areas such as Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Brisbane. In the cities, eastern grey kangaroos are frequently seen in green areas such as parks and meadow.

Animals of this species inhabit mainly Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, parts of South Australia and Tasmania.

However, they also survive in dry areas for longer periods of time without the intake of larger amounts of water. This is made possible by adapted kidney function.

The range of the eastern grey kangaroos increased in the last decades due to the improved water supply in the interior. Numerous watering places for cattle were established there, which are also visited by kangaroos.

They are the second largest kangaroo species in the world

male eastern grey kangaroo
a huge male eastern grey kangaroo

The eastern grey kangaroos are a large species of kangaroo with long, soft, gray-brown fur. The coat color varies slightly by region.

Male kangaroos grow up to 70 kg (155 lbs), females weigh up to 35 kg (77 lbs) in rare cases. So males and females look very different.

Like many other kangaroo species, the eastern grey kangaroos are nocturnal. They rest in shady forests during the hot days. In the late evening, the animals come to the large grazing areas to feed.

An estimated 11 million eastern grey kangaroos live in Australia.

This article describes the distribution, preferred food, and appearance of eastern grey kangaroos.

Western Grey Kangaroo

western grey kangaroo at Lucky Bay

Western grey kangaroos are the second species of gray kangaroos.

The western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) is one of the most common kangaroo species in Australia. You can read here how many western grey kangaroos live in Australia.

They inhabit a large area between southern Western Australia and western Victoria. Their territory even extends to Queensland. However, they remain outside the central, hot, interior of the Australian continent.

The range of the Western and Eastern Grey Kangaroos is partially overlapping, and both species are occasionally seen feeding together. However, the two species do not mate with each other.

Western grey kangaroos have brown-gray fur similar to their eastern relatives. They are therefore difficult to distinguish from each other. This article describes how to distinguish Western and Eastern Grey Kangaroos.

Males grow to almost 2 m (6.56 ft) tall in rare cases, females grow up to 1.7 m (5.57 ft) tall.

Read this article to learn more about the coat color, weight, and eating preferences of this kangaroo species.

Medium sized kangaroos - Wallaroos

Wallaroos are smaller than kangaroos but larger than wallabies. They often look confusingly similar to kangaroos. There are three main species that are counted among the wallaroos: antilopine wallaroo, common wallaroo, and black wallaroo.

Antilopine Wallaroo (or antilopine kangaroo)

Antilopine wallaroos (species osphranter antilopinus) are one of the largest species in the kangaroo family.

However, antilopine kangaroos are relatively unknown to humans. Only Aboriginals have more knowledge about this animal species.

This is due to their range, the sparsely populated north of Australia. They mainly inhabit the Kimberley region in Western Australia, the north of the Northern Territories, and the Cape York Peninsula in the state of Queensland.

Antilopine kangaroos therefore inhabit those areas in the north that are not part of the red kangaroo range. A look at the distribution map shows that the population is divided into two parts:

distribution map of the antilopine wallaroo population
Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The animals prefer to inhabit flat areas with open forests. The underground is preferably covered with some grass.

The main characteristics of antilopine kangaroos

Male animals weigh between 50 and 70 kg (110 - 154 lbs) and grow up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) tall, female antilopine kangaroos weigh up to 25 kg (55 lbs) and grow up to 0.9 m (2.9 ft) tall. They thus belong to the large kangaroo species. The fur of the males is reddish-brown, the fur of the females is rather grayish. The abdominal and leg region is slightly lighter than the rest of the body in both males and females.

You can learn more about the antilopine kangaroo's lifestyle and endangered habitat in this article.

Common Wallaroo or Euro

common wallaroo - euro
Source: Caroline Jones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Common wallaroos or Euros (species Osphranter robustus) have the largest range of any species in the kangaroo family.

range of common wallaroos (euros)
Source: Nrg800, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Common wallaroos are divided into four subspecies, which together cover the largest area of Australia. In western Australia, common wallaroos are called "euros", in the east they are called "common" or "eastern wallaroos".

Due to their large range, common wallaroos live in many different habitats. However, they prefer somewhat rocky hilly areas. Nevertheless, they live in desert regions, wetlands, but also in the mountains.

The diet of mountain kangaroos is highly dependent on habitat, which is described in more detail in this article.

The coat color also differs by region.

Kangaroos of this species grow relatively large. Males grow up to 1.9 m (6.23 ft) in rare cases, typically up to 1.6 m (5.2 ft). Females reach a size of 1.2 to 1.5 m (3.9 - 4.9 ft). Males and females also differ significantly in weight: adult male common wallaroos weigh up to 60 kg (132 lbs), females weigh up to 30 kg (66 lbs).

Black Wallaroo

black wallaroo
Source: Michael Wifall, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Black wallaroos are already significantly smaller than Euros. This species is also called Osphranter bernardus.

It is estimated that there are only about 10,000 individuals of this species. The habitat is very small compared to the other kangaroo species. Black wallaroos live in "Arnhemland," an Aboriginal area in the north of the Northern Territory (NT) in Australia. These areas consist of open forests with grass as understory, as well as tropical forests.

habitat of the black wallaroo
Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Females weigh up to 13 kg (28 lbs) and grow up to 0.6 m (1.96 ft) )tall, males grow up to 22 kg (48 lbs) and 0.7 m (2.3 lbs) tall.

The coat color in males is dark brown to black, females have a slightly lighter coat color. This article describes the range and diet of the Black Wallaroo.

Smaller kangaroo species

There are numerous smaller kangaroo species that are often restricted to a small range:

Quokkas

Quokka (Rottnest Island)
Quokka (Rottnest Island)

Quokkas are one of the most famous animals in Australia. This species is also called Setonix brachyurus. This endangered species lives in Western Australia.

The best known distribution area of the quokkas is Rottnest Island near Perth. Quokkas were first thought to be rats when they were discovered. Hence the name of the island "Rottnest Island".

Quokkas reach a size of up to 40 cm (1.3 ft). Male and female quokkas are similar in size. Males weigh about 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs) - females weigh about 3 kg (6.6 lbs). They have a short gray-brown coat.

Quokka habitat

Quokkas eat grasses, herbs, leaves, and succulent small branches. This species has a comparatively high demand for water. Therefore, quokkas usually live near watering holes. However, quokkas are able to obtain much of their water needs through food.

It is estimated that there are less than 20,000 quokkas. This article explains if quokkas actually "throw" their young to distract enemies.

Other species of the kangaroo family:

Notamacropus

Wallabia

Rock-wallaby - genus Petrogale

The following 17 species belong to Petrogale, the most species-rich genus of the kangaroo family:

Lagostrophus

The genus Lagostrophus counts only one species which lives relatively isolated on the islands Bernier and Dorre off Western Australia:

Lagorchestes

Nail-tail wallaby - Onychogalea

Dorcopsis

Species of the genus Dorcopsis live on the island of New Guinea:

Dorcopsulus

The two species of the genus Dorcopsulus live in the mountainous regions of New Guinea.

Thylogale

Macropodiformes

Hypsiprymnodontidae

Potoroidae

Macropodidae

Species
Marc

Marc
Marc is the founder and editor of Lucky Kangaroos.