This article is about the living animal. For the kangaroo as a food, see Kangaroo meat. For other meanings, see Kangaroo (disambiguation).
Kangaroo
Kangaroo and joey03.jpg
Eastern grey kangaroo
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Macropodidae
Genus: Macropus
Subgenus: Macropus and Osphranter
Species
4 species, see text.
The kangaroo /ˌkæŋɡəˈruː/ is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus: the red kangaroo, antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo.[1] Kangaroos are endemic to Australia. The Australian government estimates that 34.3 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2011, up from 25.1 million one year earlier