It is hard to guess what a Northern bettong weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) on average weights 1.26 kg (2.77 lbs).
The Northern bettong is from the family Potoroidae (genus: Bettongia). They can live for up to 7 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 1.6 meter (5′ 3″). Usually, Northern bettongs 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.
The northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) is a small potoroid marsupial which is restricted to some areas of mixed open Eucalyptus woodlands and Allocasuarina forests bordering rainforests in far northeastern Queensland, Australia. They are known as “rat kangaroos” and move about in a slow hopping manner. There are five different species in Australia of this particular animal. It is about the size of a rabbit with a large tail dragging behind.Lifespan:The typical bettong lives in the wild for about 4 to 6 years. This is a very short life span, but according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoologist, they can, under proper care, live up to the age of 15 years.The most common bettong is the Rufous Bettong and are found along the eastern coast of Australia.Behavior of the bettong:All species of the bettong are nocturnal. They carry nesting materials with their long tails and can be found in underground borrows that they escape to during the day. They like to feed at night and their range of food varies. They rarely drink water, and refrain from eating any green plants. They primarily seek fungus based plants such as mushrooms, tubers, scrubs, fruits and seeds. They use their front claws to dig for tubers identifying them via their sense of smell. These animals are able to reproduce at any time of the year, and can produce three young in a favorable year. This high rate of reproduction can lead to fluctuations in population growth.Threats:The bettong is a solitary and faces major threats. From land clearing they have experienced an extreme loss of habitat. Vast expansion in agriculture has caused a major threat in its food sources. It spends the day in a well concealed nest constructed beneath a tree, within a clump of grass or in other litter collected at ground level. Nesting material is carried using its prehensile tail. Ectomycorrhizal fungal sporocarps are the staple diet of the northern bettong. These are dug from beneath the soil at the bases of trees, and work to date suggests substantial nightly movements are often required to detect this irregularly-distributed food source. Other foods in the diet include grass roots and tubers, lilies, herbs, and sedges. The northern bettong appears to breed all year round, and like other relatives of the kangaroos, the joey is carried in a pouch until it is old enough to follow the mother as a ‘young-at-foot’.The northern bettong is an endangered animal, and only populates three regions of Queensland, Australia, Davies Creek, Emu Creek and Tinaroo Creek all of which are within 80 miles of each other.
Animals of the same family as a Northern bettong
We found other animals of the Potoroidae family:
- Gilbert’s potoroo bringing 1.57 kilos (3.46 lbs) to the scale
- Boodie bringing 1.45 kilos (3.2 lbs) to the scale
- Long-nosed potoroo bringing 1.07 kilos (2.36 lbs) to the scale
- Woylie bringing 1.22 kilos (2.69 lbs) to the scale
- Musky rat-kangaroo with a weight of 535 grams
- Eastern bettong bringing 1.66 kilos (3.66 lbs) to the scale
- 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
- Broad-faced potoroo with a weight of 499 grams
- Desert rat-kangaroo with a weight of 929 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Northern bettong
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Bettongia tropica:
- Menzies’ echymipera with a weight of 1.2 kilos (2.65 lbs)
- Rufous hare-wallaby with a weight of 1.41 kilos (3.11 lbs)
- Rusty-spotted cat with a weight of 1.42 kilos (3.13 lbs)
- Pichi with a weight of 1.49 kilos (3.28 lbs)
- Marsh rabbit with a weight of 1.36 kilos (3 lbs)
- Grizzled giant squirrel with a weight of 1.33 kilos (2.93 lbs)
- Jamaican coney with a weight of 1.5 kilos (3.31 lbs)
- Grandidier’s mongoose with a weight of 1.4 kilos (3.09 lbs)
- Western quoll with a weight of 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs)
- Chacoan naked-tailed armadillo with a weight of 1.49 kilos (3.28 lbs)
Animals with the same litter size as a Northern bettong
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Northern bettong:
- Wagner’s bonneted bat
- Long-tailed chinchilla
- Dwarf sperm whale
- Tufted capuchin
- Vicuña
- Mauritian flying fox
- Six-banded armadillo
- Dugong
- Himalayan tahr
- Smoky pocket gopher
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Northern bettong
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Northern bettong:
- Eastern quoll with an average maximal age of 6.75 years
- House mouse with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Tasmanian devil with an average maximal age of 8.17 years
- Black-tailed jackrabbit with an average maximal age of 6.75 years
- Mongolian gazelle with an average maximal age of 7 years
- Greater musky fruit bat with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Common ringtail possum with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Townsend’s chipmunk with an average maximal age of 7 years
- Rufous hare-wallaby with an average maximal age of 8 years
- Spectacled hare-wallaby with an average maximal age of 6 years