NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Red Kangaroo
Osphranter rufus (Desmarest, 1822)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, except for the more fertile areas, such as southern Western Australia, the eastern and southeastern coasts, and the rainforests along the northern coast.
Wikipedia contributors, Red kangaroo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:20:14.690090+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Osphranter rufus (Desmarest, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Desmarest, 1822)
- Common name
- Red Kangaroo
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Diprotodontia
- Family
- Macropodidae
- Genus
- Osphranter
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
- orderDiprotodontia Owen, 1866
- suborderMacropodiformes Ameghino, 1889
- familyMacropodidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyMacropodinae Gray, 1821
- genusOsphranter Gould, 1842
- speciesOsphranter rufus (Desmarest, 1822)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Osphranter. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Antilopine WallarooOsphranter antilopinus Gould, 1842 | MacropodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black WallarooOsphranter bernardus (Rothschild, 1904) | MacropodidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Kangurus rufa Desmarest, 1822 Desmarest, 1822 | synonym |
| Macropus rufus (Desmarest, 1822) (Desmarest, 1822) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1255574 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:KQB98. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.