It is hard to guess what a Gilbert’s potoroo weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Gilbert’s potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) on average weights 1.57 kg (3.46 lbs).
The Gilbert’s potoroo is from the family Potoroidae (genus: Potorous). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 34.9 cm (1′ 2″). Usually, Gilbert’s potoroos have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
Gilbert’s potoroo or ngilkat (Potorous gilbertii) is Australia’s most endangered marsupial and one of the world’s rarest critically endangered mammals. It is a small nocturnal macropod which lives in small groups. It has long hind feet and front feet with curved claws, which it uses to dig for food. Its body has large amounts of fur, which helps with insulation, and its fur ranges between brown and grey, the colour fading on its belly. This potoroo has a long, thin snout curving downward that it uses to smell its surroundings; this trait is common in all potoroo species. Its eyes appear to bulge out of its face and look as though they are on an angle, and its ears are almost invisible, buried under thick fur. Male and female body types are similar and are both within the same size range. Adult females range in weight from 708–1205 g (including pouch young where present), whereas adult males range in weight from 845–1200 g.The current estimated population is a sparse seventy individuals. It was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1994. The only naturally located population is found in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in Western Australia, where they co-exist with quokkas (Setonix brachyurus). Small populations are also being established at Bald Island and Michaelmas Island.
Animals of the same family as a Gilbert’s potoroo
We found other animals of the Potoroidae family:
- Desert rat-kangaroo with a weight of 929 grams
- Musky rat-kangaroo with a weight of 535 grams
- Woylie bringing 1.22 kilos (2.69 lbs) to the scale
- Broad-faced potoroo with a weight of 499 grams
- Long-footed potoroo bringing 1.84 kilos (4.06 lbs) to the scale
- Rufous rat-kangaroo bringing 2.81 kilos (6.19 lbs) to the scale
- Eastern bettong bringing 1.66 kilos (3.66 lbs) to the scale
- Long-nosed potoroo bringing 1.07 kilos (2.36 lbs) to the scale
- Northern bettong bringing 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs) to the scale
- Boodie bringing 1.45 kilos (3.2 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Gilbert’s potoroo
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Potorous gilbertii:
- Fennec fox with a weight of 1.32 kilos (2.91 lbs)
- Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine with a weight of 1.75 kilos (3.86 lbs)
- Ornate cuscus with a weight of 1.79 kilos (3.95 lbs)
- Atlantic titi with a weight of 1.39 kilos (3.06 lbs)
- Northern brushtail possum with a weight of 1.55 kilos (3.42 lbs)
- Brazilian three-banded armadillo with a weight of 1.49 kilos (3.28 lbs)
- Nabarlek with a weight of 1.4 kilos (3.09 lbs)
- Mongoose lemur with a weight of 1.77 kilos (3.9 lbs)
- Greater glider with a weight of 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs)
- Coppery ringtail possum with a weight of 1.77 kilos (3.9 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Gilbert’s potoroo
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Gilbert’s potoroo:
- David’s echymipera with a size of 37.6 cm (1′ 3″)
- Giant naked-tailed rat with a size of 31 cm (1′ 1″)
- Indian grey mongoose with a size of 40 cm (1′ 4″)
- Ring-tailed cat with a size of 33.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- Moonrat with a size of 32.7 cm (1′ 1″)
- Little Swan Island hutia with a size of 33.7 cm (1′ 2″)
- Black dwarf porcupine with a size of 35.2 cm (1′ 2″)
- Brown-tailed mongoose with a size of 29.7 cm (1′ 0″)
- Bengal mongoose with a size of 30.8 cm (1′ 1″)
- Chinese ferret-badger with a size of 38.5 cm (1′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Gilbert’s potoroo
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Gilbert’s potoroo: