Mammal
Desert Rat-kangaroo
Caloprymnus campestrisAlso known as Buff-nosed Rat-kangaroo, Plains Rat-kangaroo, Oolacunta
The desert rat-kangaroo once darted across the windswept gibber plains of Central Australia, using its elongated hind legs to outpace danger with exceptional bursts of speed. Individuals rested through the daytime heat in shallow scrapes under low saltbushes, lining their minimalist nests with dry stems carried by their prehensile tails. Predation by introduced red foxes and feral cats caused an abrupt collapse, leaving the creature unrecorded since the 1930s.
MarsupialNocturnal
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preySaltbush foliage, Desert succulents, Native grass seeds
Predators
- Red fox
- Feral cat
- Dingo
ThreatsPredation by invasive red foxes and feral cats
HabitatsStony gibber plains, claypans, and sandridge margins
Life spanEstimated 4–8 years in the wild
Classification
- OrderDiprotodontia
- FamilyPotoroidae
- GenusCaloprymnus
- SpeciesCaloprymnus campestris
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct species; no living individuals remain to observe.
Responsible observation
- Museum Collections: Study preserved taxidermy mounts and skeletal remains in natural history museums.
- Historical Records: Consult early 20th-century expedition journals to explore its ecology and behavior.
Invasive Predator "Red Fox" by Mike's Birds is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/. · cc-by-sa
Native Predator Jarrod Amoore from Sydney, Australia / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
Close Relative Stephen Michael Barnett / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
Close Relative (c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
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