Macropod hybrids
Macropod hybrids are hybrids of animals within the family Macropodidae, the family of species that includes kangaroos and wallbies. Several macropod hybrids have been experimentally bred, including:
| Male | Female | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern wallaroo, Macropus robustus | Red kangaroo, M. rufus | Infertile female1 |
| Swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor | Red-necked wallaby, M. rufogriseus | Sterile male2 |
| Agile wallaby, M. agilis | Red-necked wallaby, M. rufogriseus | Sterile male2 |
| Tammar wallaby, M. eugenii | Black-striped wallaby, M. dorsalis | Sterile male2 |
| Western grey kangaroo, M. fuliginosus | Eastern grey kangaroo, M. giganteus | Sterile male and fertile female |
| Red kangaroo, M. rufus3 | Eastern grey kangaroo, M. giganteus | |
| Tammar wallaby, M. eugenii | Parma wallaby, M. parma | |
| Tammar wallaby, M. eugenii | Pademelon, Thylogale sp. |
1. May have been so poorly fertile as to be considered sterile
2. Although the males had testes, they did not produce sperm and some were found to have Y-chromosome abnormalities.
3. In-vitro fertilization used
Some hybrids between similar species have been achieved by housing males of one species and females of the other together to limit the choice of mate. To create a "natural" macropod hybrid, young animals of one species have been transferred to the pouch of another so as to imprint into them the other species. In-vitro fertilization has also been used and the fertilized egg implanted into a female of either species.[1]
References
- Poole, WE "Reproduction in the Two Species of Grey Kangaroos, Macropus Giganteus Shaw and M. Fuliginosus (Desmarest). Ii. Gestation, Parturition and Pouch Life." Australian Journal of Zoology 23(3) 333 - 353 (1975)
- MJ Smith, DL Hayman and RM Hope, "Observations on the chromosomes and reproductive systems of four macropodine interspecific hybrids" Australian Journal of Zoology 27(6) 959 - 972 (1979)