NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Northern Bettong
Bettongia tropica Wakefield, 1967
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.
Northern Bettong (Bettongia tropica)
Kaitlyn · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) is a small, endangered, rabbit-sized mammal native to forests in northeast Australia. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it moves by hopping and shelters in a concealed nest by day, feeding at night on roots and fungi. It is also a marsupial and carries its young in a pouch. The northern bettong is threatened by habitat loss, and is now restricted to a few small areas.
Wikipedia contributors, Northern bettong; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:19:57.909105+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bettongia tropica Wakefield, 1967
- Name authority
- Wakefield, 1967
- Common name
- Northern Bettong
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Diprotodontia
- Family
- Potoroidae
- Genus
- Bettongia
- 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
- familyPotoroidae Gray, 1821
- tribeBettongini Flannery & Archer, 1987
- genusBettongia Gray, 1837
- speciesBettongia tropica Wakefield, 1967
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bettongia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nullarbor Dwarf BettongBettongia pusilla McNamara, 1997 | PotoroidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Brush-tailed BettongBettongia penicillata Gray, 1837 | PotoroidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=709404 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.
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:LP3F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.