Macropus


Macropus, from the Ancient Greek words, meaning "long", and, meaning "foot", is a marsupial genus in the family Macropodidae. It has two extant species of large terrestrial kangaroos. Thirteen known extinct species are recognised. The type species is the eastern grey kangaroo.

Taxonomy

In 2019, a reassessment of macropod taxonomy determined that Osphranter and Notamacropus, formerly considered subgenera, should be moved to the genus level. This change was accepted by the Australian Faunal Directory in 2020.

Fossils

A currently-unnamed Pleistocene Macropus species from Australia was the largest kangaroo ever, with an estimated mass of around 274 kg.