Tree kangaroo By Steven woodrich

The animal itself They are found in the rain forest of New guinea. Tree kangaroos are Macropods adapted for life in trees There are 14 species of tree-kangaroos with a head and body length of 16 to 30 in, a tail length 16 to 34 in, and a weight of up to 32 lb. Females are smaller than males.

evolution The ancestors of all kangaroos are believed to have been small arboreal marsupials that looked like some of astrailas present-day possums. The earliest macropods diverged from this line when they descended to the ground and evolved bodies adapted for rapid motion over the earth and rocks. Why the ancestors of the tree-kangaroos returned to the trees is not known, but it is believed to have happened due to a lack of open ground in their modern habitat. Thus, those who were able to live in trees were naturally selected to survive.

Area in which they live Grizzled Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus inustus; northern and western New Guinea, plus the island of Yapen, and possibly Salawati and Waigeo. Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus lumholtzi; Queensland, Australia. Bennett's Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus bennettianus; Queensland, Australia. Ursine Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus ursinus; Vogelkop, New Guinea. Matschie's Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus matschiei; Huon Peninsula, New Guinea. Doria's Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus dorianus; western, central, and southeastern New Guinea. Seri's Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus stellarum; highlands of west-central New Guinea. Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus goodfellowi; central and southeastern New Guinea. Golden-mantled Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus pulcherrimus; Foja and Torricelli Mountains, New Guinea. Lowlands Tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus spadix; south-western lowlands of Papua New Guinea.

Threat they face people habitat The increase of hunting causes the tree kangaroo and already threatened spices on the verge of extinction. With people moving closers and closer to the kangaroos habitat the loss of there homes or forest could push the kangaroos completely out and also cause there extinction.

Facts Tree-kangaroos feed mostly on leaves and fruit A female tree kangaroo typically has a gestation period between 39 and 46 days, making it the longest gestation period of any marsupial. A female gives birth to one young, called a joey. stays in its mother's pouch for nearly 10 months.

Work cited http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/08/09/177551_local-news.html Lifeline for tree kangaroo Daniel Bateman Tuesday, August 9, 2011 © The Cairns Post Functional morphology of the forelimb of living and extinct tree-kangaroos (Marsupial: Macropodidae) Natalie M. Warburton1,2,3,*, Kathryn J. Harvey2, Gavin J. Prideaux3,4, James E. O'Shea2 Article first published online: 31 MAY 2011 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10979 Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.