Kangaroos are the largest members of the Macropodidae family, a group of marsupials whose name translates to “big foot.” These Australian endemics are instantly recognizable for their specialized anatomy, which enables bipedal hopping locomotion. Their powerful hind legs and a long, muscular tail act as a fifth limb for balance and support. The female’s forward-opening pouch, where the underdeveloped young (joey) completes its growth, is a defining trait of this marsupial group. Animals similar to the kangaroo include both close genetic relatives and unrelated species that share their distinctive physical characteristics.
The Closest Kin: Wallabies and Wallaroos
The wallaby and the wallaroo are the most direct relatives of the kangaroo, all belonging to the Macropodidae family. The distinctions between the three are generally based on size, with kangaroos being the largest, wallabies the smallest, and wallaroos occupying the middle ground.
Wallaroos are stockier animals with a robust frame and shorter hind limbs, adapting them for climbing and maneuvering on rocky outcrops and mountainous terrain. Wallabies are smaller and more agile, possessing shorter legs that favor maneuverability in dense forests, scrub, or rugged areas. Kangaroos, such as the Red Kangaroo, are built for speed and endurance on open grasslands, utilizing longer feet and legs to maximize stride length and cover vast distances efficiently.
Smaller Relatives: Pademelons, Potoroos, and Bettongs
The family tree extends to many smaller macropods that share the general body plan but are adapted to specific ecological niches. Pademelons are small, stocky marsupials with relatively short tails and legs, an adaptation that allows them to push through the dense, low-growing vegetation of their forest habitats. Their body shape is less lanky than that of their larger relatives, making them better suited for movement in thick undergrowth.
Rat-Kangaroos
This group, sometimes called rat-kangaroos, includes the potoroos and bettongs, which are significantly smaller and more rat-like in appearance. Potoroos have a long, tapering nose and a tail shorter than their head and body length, favoring wet, dense scrub environments. Bettongs are distinguished by a prehensile tail, which they use to carry bundles of nesting material. These smaller relatives demonstrate the evolutionary diversity of the hopping body plan.
Unrelated Hoppers: Convergent Evolution
Similarity to a kangaroo is not limited to its Australian relatives; other mammals on different continents have independently evolved a similar hopping form. This phenomenon, where unrelated species develop similar traits due to adapting to similar environmental pressures, is known as convergent evolution.
The North African and Asian Jerboa is a prime example, possessing the long hind legs, short forelimbs, and long tail that mimic the kangaroo’s silhouette. Jerboas are desert rodents that use erratic, zigzagging hopping as a primary method for escaping predators across open, arid landscapes. Similarly, the Springhare, a rodent native to Southern and Eastern Africa, also evolved a nearly identical hindlimb structure for bipedal hopping. These non-marsupial hoppers show that the kangaroo’s body design is a highly effective solution for locomotion in open, challenging environments globally.