Australian Red-necked Wallaby adaptations by Mr. Palsford, 2011.

Red-necked Wallaby is the most common species of wallaby in the world.

The Red-necked Wallaby is a marsupial belonging to the family
Macropodidae, which also includes kangaroos. The
name wallaby originated from a native name given to the animals by the
Eora Aboriginal tribe in New South Wales.
Red-necked Wallabies are perfectly adapted to
the unique Australian environment. The
species requires a particular combination of
environmental factors to develop, mate and
reproduce. Red-necked Wallabies
predominantly live in heavily timbered areas
of open forest near the Australian coastline.
Their geographical range stretches from
Rockhampton in Queensland to the eastern
border of South Australia on the Australian
mainland. (See map 1).
One of the most obvious and practical adaptations of the Red-necked
Wallaby are its large, muscular hind legs and oversized feet. All wallabies
(and kangaroos) have the unique ability to store elastic potential energy in
their tendons within their hind legs. This allows wallabies to propel
themselves by using the spring action of their tendons as opposed to
using muscular effort. This saves valuable energy when the wallaby is
travelling across the Australian bush. This not only allows them to escape
from predators such as the dingo or the fox, but also enables wallabies to
locate food much quicker than most other Australian animals.
Another adaptation of the Red-necked Wallaby is its long muscular tail.
The tail of the wallaby serves as a steadying rudder when leaping, and
can function as a third leg when the wallaby is stationary and resting. The
tail may also give extra traction to the wallaby as it moves around,
providing an extra point of contact between the wallaby and the land. As a
result of this adaptation, wallabies rarely lose their balance and tip over
The Red-necked Wallaby has a natural born instinct to flee at the first sign
of danger. In fact, this adaptation is at time so overwhelming that they
have been known to run in front of moving cars and jump off cliffs in
extreme cases. Their instinct to flee is triggered by their strong sense of
smell and acute hearing. When Red-necked Wallabies hear or smell a
potential predator, they instinctively use their strong hind legs to propel
themselves through the forest and away from danger. As a result of this
adaptation, healthy Red-necked Wallabies are rarely ever caught by their
predators. Their tendency to flee at the slightest disturbance makes them
very difficult prey to locate.

Red-necked Wallabies live in Australia, one of the driest and hottest

continents on Earth. One way that Red-necked Wallabies keep cool is by
licking their paws and wrists. Wallaby skin is thinner on their forearms
than on the rest of their body, and the blood vessels are very close to the
surface of their skin in those areas. As the saliva from a wallabys tongue
evaporates it cools the skin down. As a result of this adaptation, Rednecked Wallabies can keep cool during the hot Australian summers, and
by licking, they use much less water than sweating does, so they can cool
their body down while conserving as much water as they can.
One of the most fascinating adaptations of female Red-necked Wallabies
their ability to temporarily freeze the development of an embryo during
pregnancy. This occurs in areas with poor food sources and in times of
severe drought. The process is known as embryonic diapause. Mammals
use diapause to time the birth of their offspring to meet favourable
environmental or metabolic conditions. It is to a female's benefit to have
ideal conditions (e.g. mild weather, available food) before giving birth, as
reproduction has a high energy cost. As a result of this adaptation, mother
Red-necked Wallabies can dramatically decrease the chances of their
offspring dying.