What is Macropod?
{{taxobox | name = Macropodidae | image = Young_red_necked_wallaby.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = [[Red-necked Wallaby]] | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | infraclassis = [[Marsupial]]ia | ordo = [[Diprotodontia]] | subordo = [[Macropodiformes]] | familia = '''Macropodidae''' | familia_authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], [[1821]] | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = }} '''Macropods''' are [[marsupial]]s belonging to the family '''Macropodidae'''. That family includes [[kangaroo]]s, [[Wallaby|wallabies]], [[tree-kangaroo]]s, [[pademelon]]s, [[quokka]]s and others. They are [[indigenous (ecology)|native]] to [[Australia]], [[New Guinea]], and their surrounding islands. Before European settlement, there were about 65 species of macropods. Six species have since become [[extinct]]. Another 11 species have been greatly reduced in numbers. ==Physical description== Modern macropods are [[herbivores]]. They have specialized [[teeth]] made for grinding up fibrous plants. Macropods usually have a row of broad, straight front teeth, no canines, and a gap before their large molars. The stomachs of the macropods contain lots of [[bacteria]] that help them to digest their food by breaking it down for them. Macropods have a certain blend of bacteria in their stomachs that lowers the amount of [[methane]] produced. Macropods come in all different sizes. Almost all have a powerful tail and large back legs. The word 'macropod' comes from the Greek for 'large foot'. Their long legs allow macropods to move quickly, and for long distances. [[Gestation]] lasts about one month. In larger species, it lasts a little longer. Usually a single [[offspring]] is born. It attaches itself to a teat inside the mother's pouch. The offspring is able to leave the pouch after 5-11 months. It is sexually mature at 1-3 years old, depending on the species. ==Fossil record== Marsupials evolved about 160 million years ago during the [[Jurassic period]]. They reached Austral