Kan"ga*roo" (?), n. [Said to be the native name.]
(Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of jumping marsupials of the family
Macropodidæ. They
inhabit Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, They have long and
strong hind legs and a large tail, while the fore legs are comparatively short and feeble. The giant kangaroo (Macropus major) is the largest species, sometimes becoming twelve or fourteen feet in total
length. The tree kangaroos, belonging to the genus
Dendrolagus, live in
trees; the rock kangaroos, of the genus
Petrogale, inhabit rocky situations; and the brush
kangaroos, of the genus Halmaturus, inhabit wooded districts. See Wallaby.
Kangaroo apple (Bot.), the edible fruit of the
Tasmanian plant Solanum aviculare. -- Kangaroo grass (Bot.), a perennial Australian forage grass (Anthistiria
australis). -- Kangaroo hare (Zoöl.), the jerboa kangaroo. See under Jerboa. --
Kangaroo mouse.
(Zoöl.) See Jumping mouse, under Jumping. --
Kangaroo rat
(Zoöl.), the potoroo.
Hear it pronounced