Kangaroos and wallabies | Macropodidae

Kangoeroes en wallaby's | Canguros y ualabíes

Everything about these animals is built for hopping. The hind foot is long and narrow and bears chiefly on the fourth toe; in the lower leg lie heavy elastic tendons that are stretched at each landing and give their energy back at the push-off, so that hopping faster costs hardly more effort than hopping slowly. The tail is heavy and tapering and serves as a counterweight in the air; at walking pace it is planted on the ground as a fifth limb while the hind legs swing forward. The forelimbs are short and used to grasp and to dig. The cheekteeth move forward through the jaw with age and drop out at the front once worn away. The pouch opens forward; a female may carry a dormant embryo, a young at the teat and a grown joey at heel all at once. Europe holds one introduced wallaby, in damp woodland and heath.