Thylogale stigmatica
red-legged pademelon

Thylogale stigmatica, or red-legged pademelon, is found in Australia and New Guinea. In Australia, they can be found between the tip of Cape York to the southern portion of Tamworth. In New Guinea, they are located in the southern Fly River area. (Gould, 1978; Johnson and Vernes, 1994; Strahan and National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife (Project), 1983; Strahan, 1995)

On the eastern coast of Australia, pademelons can be found in rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and dry vine scrub forests. Northern populations use the grassy forest edge and inner portions of the forest. Pademelons in the southern regions of their habitat rarely venture beyond the forest edge. Thylogale stigmatica is also located in the lowland rainforests and low mixed savanna thickets near swamps in the southern Fly River area of New Guinea. (Cronin, 2000; Gould, 1978; Strahan, 1995)

Red-legged pademelons have thick, soft fur and a short stout tail. They also have round ears, a naked nose, and red-brown markings on their cheeks, thighs and forearms. Pademelons that live in dark forest regions have dark grey-brown coats and cream colored bellies. Populations that live in open areas have pale grey-brown coats and pale grey bellies. Their hindfeet have no first digit, while the second and third digits are fused (a condition called syndactyly, common to all members of the family Macropodidae). The fourth digit is long. (Cronin, 2000; David and Diane, 2005b; Strahan and National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife (Project), 1983; Strahan, 1995)

Pademelons are small when compared to other species in Macropodidae; their average height is 0.762 m. Males have head and body lengths ranging from 470 to 536 mm. Their tails vary from 372 to 473 mm. A male’s weight ranges from 3.7 to 6.8 kg. (Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995)

Female pademelons are smaller than males with head and body lengths ranging from 386 to 520 mm. Their tails can be between 301 to 445 mm. Females weigh between 2.5 to 4.2 kg. (Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995)

The maximum life span recorded is 9.7 years in the wild. (Austad, 2006)

Red-legged pademelons are usually shy and solitary but associate in loosely organized groups. They are active all day, but are least active from midday to early afternoon and midnight. (Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995)

As pademelons feed in the forest, they are equally spaced (30-50 m). The spacing and area of feeding is controlled by a dominant pademelon. When feeding on the edge of the forest and frightened, they use cleared paths that have been made to quickly make an escape into the forest for cover. (Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005a; Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005b; Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995)

Although they commonly feed in the forest alone, pademelons gather at night when feeding on the forest edge. They can also been seen together during the winter as they group in basking spots to keep warm. (Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005a; Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005b; Strahan, 1995)

When foraging, they keep their noses to the ground slowly moving in a quadrupedal fashion. When resting, the tail is between the hindlegs as the animals sit on the base of their tails and lean against a rock or tree. When pademelons sleep, the same resting stance is used except that the head is leaned forward to rest on the tail or on the ground beside them. When resting or sleeping they can be found in depressions made in the ground. (BASDATA Pty Ltd, 2004; Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995)

Home Range

The home range of pademelons is separated into two regions: the inner portion of the forest during the day and the forest edge during the night. Their home range is between 10,000 to 40,000 square meters, with the diurnal range being larger than the nocturnal range. Within the diurnal and nocturnal ranges, red-legged pademelons move slowly, but when traveling between the two regions, they moves swiftly. Overall, they are more active in the forest during the early morning and late afternoon when searching for favored food items like dicots. The nocturnal region of their habitat is associated with more sedentary behavior and intensive grazing. While grazing at night, pademelons do not stray more than 70 meters from the forest edge. If frightened, they use the runways they have cleared to quickly move into the forest to take cover. (Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995; Vernes, Marsh, and Winter, 1995)

Red-legged pademelons communicate mainly through sound. The soft clucking sound used by a mother to call her young is similar to the sound that is made by a male trying to court a female. When frightened, they give an alarm thump, which is created with their hindfeet to alert surrounding pademelons. It is at this time that they use the pre-made runways in the forest to quickly retreat. (Strahan and National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife (Project), 1983; Strahan, 1995)

The diet of red-legged pademelons is primarily composed of fallen leaves and fruits. They have also been known to eat fresh leaves. Some of the leaves they consume are known to be poisonous. To combat this, they use an enzyme called GST. One of the favorite foods of T. stigmatica is the Moreton bay fig (Fiscus macrophylla). Other fruits that make up part of their diet are the Burdekin plum in the northern region and berries. Some plants that make up their diet are dicotyledonous plants, Fishborne ferns, and king orchids. During nocturnal grazing, they consume grasses like Paspalum notatum and Cyrtococum oxyphylum. They have also been known to eat the bark of trees, fungus, and cicadas. (Billiards, King, and Agar, 1999; Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005a; Cronin, 2000; David and Diane, 2005a; Strahan and National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife (Project), 1983; Strahan, 1995)

The main predators of T. stigmatica are dingos (Canis lupus dingo), tiger quolls (Dasyurus maculatus), amethystine pythons (Morelia amethistina), and domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). The rate of predation increases following a forest fire, when there is less forest cover. (David and Diane, 2005a; David and Diane, 2005b; Strahan, 1995; Vernes, 2000)

They detect predators by spreading out when foraging. Each pademelon can watch for predators in its vicinity. If a predator is seen, a warning to others in the area is spread by a thumping sound made with the hind legs. (Cronin, 2000; Strahan, 1995)

The dingo’s main diet is composed of red-legged pademelons when they are available. Thylogale stigmatica has the potential to damage or kill young saplings when eating or stepping on them. There has also been a case of crops being eaten. ("A Guide to the Use of Australian Native Mammals in Biomedical Research Section 4: Care of Individual Species", 1995; Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005b; Fischer, 2005; Strahan, 1995)

Pademelons are subject to various parasites such as coccidiosis (infects the intestines), ticks, and toxoplasmosis (believed to come from cats). ("A Guide to the Use of Australian Native Mammals in Biomedical Research Section 4: Care of Individual Species", 1995; Fischer, 2005)

Pademelons may eat crops very rarely. (Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005b)

Pademelons, along with many other species of Macropodidae in Australia, are important members of the ecosystems in which they live and are important ecotourism attractions. (Higginbottom et al., 2004)

Clearing of the red-legged pademelons' habitat is cause for concern, but at this time there are enough parks and reserves to keep T. stigmatica off of conservation lists and keep their status secure. (Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges, 2005b; Strahan, 1995; Vernes, 2000)

The name Thylogale stigmatica means "prickled (pattern) pouched-weasel". The name pademelon comes from the Aboriginal word "paddymalla" which means small kangaroo from the forest. (Strahan, 1995)

Although humans clear away the forest area the pademelons live in, the cleared area becomes grassy. These areas are used during nocturnal feeding by pademelons. (Fostercare of Australians Unique Native Animals, 2004; Strahan, 1995)