Scientific Classification

KINGDOM: Animalia

PHYLUM: Chordata

CLASS: Mammalia

ORDER: Diprotodontia

FAMILY: Macropodidae

GENUS: Thylogale

SPECIES: T. thetis

Conservation Status

the red necked pademelon has a joey in her pouch
Red-necked Pademelon standing in leaves
Red-necked Pademelon with joey tail
Red-necked Pademelon Thylogale thetis at Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia

Red-necked pademelons are one of the smaller of the subspecies growing 11-24 inches long not including their thick tail, which can reach 20 inches by itself. Female and male coat colorations and dimensions are the same, however, females weigh only around 8 pounds and the males weigh about 15.

Red-necked pademelons have soft brown-gray coats with cream-colored bellies and red-tinted fur on their neck and shoulders.

Pademelons are small marsupials with seven subspecies throughout Australia, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea. This week’s critter is the red-necked pademelon, which can be found in Australia. They are forest-dwelling, preferring landscapes between forest and grasslands.
Red-necked pademelons are herbivores mainly eating grasses, berries, herbs, roots, bark, and shrubs. During the early part of the day, they will forage within the protection of the forest, rest mid-day to the late afternoon, and then venture out into the grasslands to graze at dusk. Red-necked pademelons, like most pademelons, will drag their tail across the ground as they move through the forest to make feeding areas and escape routes.

Red-necked pademelons mate at different times of the year depending on their location with both genders having multiple partners to increase reproductive success. Females are only pregnant for a month before giving birth to one baby called a joey. However, their joey is especially vulnerable as it must climb  through the mother’s fur to the pouch where it will keep developing and nursing for 6 months.

Red-necked pademelons are usually solitary critters but may sometimes form small groups. They communicate within the group using clicks and thumping their hindfeet.