Abstract

Measurements of hind foot length, weight, head length and tail length were collected from pouch young, young at foot, sub-adults and adults of a reintroduced population of the vulnerable burrowing bettong, Bettongia lesueur, on Heirisson Prong, Shark Bay, Western Australia. A key based on qualitative characteristics was used to age individuals and a Richards growth function was fitted to plots of hind foot length versus age. The patterns of growth and morphological characteristics were similar for males and females. Both sexes exhibited a growth pattern typical of a medium-sized macropod with an initial slow phase of growth followed by a rapid phase that slowed as adult size was reached. The growth curves are suitable for broad estimates of the age of wild-caught animals from pouch young to early adulthood.

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