Diprotodontia is a mammalian order within the infraclass Marsupialia, comprising the largest and most diverse radiation of herbivorous and omnivorous Australasian marsupials, including kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koalas, and wombats. It is defined morphologically by diprotodont dentition, characterized by a single pair of large, procumbent lower incisors, and syndactyly, in which the second and third toes of the hind foot are fused except for their claws. Members exhibit a wide range of locomotor and dietary specializations, from arboreal folivory to terrestrial grazing, and they show complex reproductive strategies typical of marsupials, including altricial young and prolonged postnatal development in a pouch.
Scientists have discovered mosquitoes can act like tiny "flying wildlife surveyors," helping researchers detect elusive and endangered animals in Australia's national parks. A team from Macquarie University and the Department ...
Ecology
Mar 19, 2026
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The first camera survey ever conducted on Truwana/Cape Barren Island off Tasmania has recorded two rarely seen animals—white-footed dunnarts and blonde echidnas. A vulnerable shorebird—the Latham's snipe—was also photographed.
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2026
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From whale songs to lion roars, animals have evolved to stretch their voices across distances so that friends—and sometimes foes—can hear them. Each sound is coded with messages like "Come here!" "Back off!" "Danger's lurking!" ...
Evolution
Mar 10, 2026
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If you follow media coverage of koalas, you could be forgiven for feeling confused. Recent stories describe a "koala paradox": endangered in the north of Australia, abundant in the south; genetically diverse in some regions, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 6, 2026
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A new study published in Science is challenging long-held assumptions about how we measure genetic risk in endangered species. Researchers analyzed whole genomes from hundreds of koalas, finding that populations previously ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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In a dry riverbed in Brazil, in a dense forest near the Amazon, a team of paleontologists found a fossilized jawbone from an ancient animal. Over the course of their fieldwork, they found eight similar bones, each around ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 3, 2026
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181
A prototype artificial intelligence-powered camera incorporated into an intelligent road sign has successfully detected and recorded a koala crossing a road in real time on the Redlands Coast, marking the first time this ...
Ecology
Mar 3, 2026
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Every living organism has its own genetic "blueprint": the source code for how it grows, functions and reproduces. This blueprint is known as a genome. When scientists sequence a genome, they identify and put in order the ...
Ecology
Feb 17, 2026
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A tiny, threatened marsupial not known to have inhabited South Australia's Yorke Peninsula may exist as a relict population and still be clinging to survival, according to new research that has re-examined historical field ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 16, 2026
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25
We humans have long viewed ourselves as the pinnacle of evolution. People label other species as "primitive" or "ancient" and use terms like "higher" and "lower" animals.
Evolution
Feb 9, 2026
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