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Setonix brachyurus
Is a small macropod weighting 2.5 to 5 kg and Measuring about 40 to 54 cm with a 25-to-30-centimetre-long tail, rounded ears, and a short, broad head, brown in colour, fading to buff underneath, it hops like a Kangaroo.
Spotted during a day trip to Rottnest Island WA (Australia) on the beack area, the Island is plenty of them, 8,000–12,000 (2008) are not shy and very friendly to humans. Snakes are largely the quokka's only predator on the island. At the end of summer and into autumn, the quokka population on Rottnest Island dies off in response to water availability. Quokkas can be found on some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, in particular on Rottnest Island just off Perth and Bald Island near Albany. A small mainland colony exists in the protected area of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve.
The quokka was one of the first Australian mammals seen by Europeans. The Dutch mariner Samuel Volckertzoon wrote of sighting "a wild cat" on Rottnest Island in 1658. In 1696, Willem de Vlamingh mistook them for giant rats and named the island "Rotte nest", which comes from the Dutch word rattennest, meaning "rat nest". Is the only member of the genus Setonix, is herbivorous and mainly nocturnal. Listed as vulnerable. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Diprotodontia Family: Macropodidae Subfamily: Macropodinae Genus: Setonix
Spotted on Apr 13, 2017
Submitted on Apr 20, 2017
2 Comments
Thanks Ashley!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!