biology

List of diprotodonts

List of diprotodonts is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of diprotodonts rather than just read about it. In short: Diprotodontia is an order of Australian marsupial mammals. Members of this order are called diprotodonts.

Key takeaways

List of diprotodonts belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of diprotodonts to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of diprotodonts from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Diprotodontia is an order of Australian marsupial mammals. Members of this order are called diprotodonts. Diprotodontia is the largest order of marsupials and currently comprises 139 extant species, which are grouped into 39 genera. They are found in Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia, in forests, shrublands, grasslands, and savannas, though some species are found in deserts and rocky areas. They come in a wide array of sizes, ranging from the Tasmanian pygmy possum, at 5 cm (2 in) plus a 6 cm (2 in) tail, to the red kangaroo, at 160 cm (63 in) plus a 120 cm (47 in) tail. Diprotodontia is subdivided into three suborders: Macropodiformes, Phalangeriformes, and Vombatiformes. Macropodiformes has 71 species in 3 families: Hypsiprymnodontidae, Macropodidae, and Potoroidae, and includes kangaroos, wallabies, bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos. Phalangeriformes has 64 species in 6 families: Acrobatidae, Petauridae, Pseudocheiridae, Tarsipedidae, Burramyidae, and Phalangeridae, and includes cuscus and the brushtail, ringtail, and gliding possums. Vombatiformes has only four species in two families: Phascolarctidae, the koala, and Vombatidae, the wombats. The classification of species in the order is not fixed, with many recent proposals for changes made based on molecular phylogenetic analysis. Additionally, the present set of suborders was created beginning in 1997 by splitting the former suborder Phalangerida into Macropodiformes and Phalangeriformes, and further reorganizations have been proposed. In addition to the extant species, nine species in the suborder Macropodiformes—four in the family Macropodidae and four in Potoroidae—have been made extinct in the modern era, eight between the 1880s and the 1940s after the colonization of Australia began: the broad-faced potoroo, crescent nail-tail wallaby, desert bettong, desert rat-kangaroo, eastern hare-wallaby, Lake Mackay hare-wallaby, Nullarbor dwarf bettong, and toolache wallaby, and one in 2026, the woylie. Dozens of extinct, prehistoric Diprotodont species have also been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.

Conventions The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the collective range of species in that genera is provided. Ranges are based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species unless otherwise noted. All extinct genera or species listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "†".

Classification

The order Diprotodontia consists of 140 extant species belonging to 39 genera. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Modern molecular studies indicate that the 39 genera can be grouped into 11 families; these families are grouped into the suborders Macropodiformes, Phalangeriformes, and Vombatiformes, and many are further grouped into named clades or subfamilies. In addition to the extant species, eight species in the suborder Phalangeriformes—four in the family Macropodidae and four in Potoroidae, including one extinct genus—have been made extinct in the modern era, all between the 1880s and the 1940s after the colonization of Australia began. Suborder Macropodiformes

Family Hypsiprymnodontidae (musky rat-kangaroo): 1 genus, 1 species Family Macropodidae Subfamily Macropodinae (kangaroos and wallabies) 12 genera, 66 species (4 extinct) Subfamily Sthenurinae (banded hare-wallaby) 1 genera, 1 species Family Potoroidae (bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos) 4 genera (1 extinct), 9 species (3 extinct) Suborder Phalangeriformes

Superfamily Petauroidea Family Acrobatidae (feather-tailed possum and feather-tailed glider): 2 genera, 2 species Family Petauridae (possums): 3 genera, 11 species Family Pseudocheiridae Subfamily Hemibelideinae (greater gliders): 2 genera, 2 species Subfamily Pseudocheirinae (ringtail possums): 3 genera, 11 species Subfamily Pseudochiropsinae (false ringtail possums): 1 genus, 5 species Family Tarsipedidae (honey possum): 1 genus, 1 species Superfamily Phalangeroidea Family Burramyidae (pygmy possums): 2 genera, 5 species Family Phalangeridae Subfamily Ailuropinae (bear cuscus): 1 genus, 2 species Subfamily Phalangerinae (cuscus): 5 genera, 25 species Suborder Vombatiformes

Family Phascolarctidae (koala): 1 genus, 1 species Family Vombatidae (wombats): 2 genera, 3 species

Diprotodonts The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.

Suborder Macropodiformes

Hypsiprymnodontidae

Macropodidae

Potoroidae

Suborder Phalangeriformes

Superfamily Petauroidea

Acrobatidae

Petauridae

Pseudocheiridae

Tarsipedidae

Superfamily Phalangeroidea

Burramyidae

Phalangeridae

Suborder Vombatiformes

Phascolarctidae

Vombatidae

References

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of diprotodonts

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of diprotodonts claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of diprotodonts before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of diprotodonts ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of diprotodonts

In research: List of diprotodonts appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of diprotodonts in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of diprotodonts is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Diprotodonts, Lists of animal genera, Lists of marsupial mammals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of diprotodonts outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “List of diprotodonts” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study List of diprotodonts in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of diprotodonts means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of diprotodonts out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of diprotodonts in simple terms?

Diprotodontia is an order of Australian marsupial mammals. Members of this order are called diprotodonts.

Why does List of diprotodonts matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of diprotodonts?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of diprotodonts.