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A wallaby is any of about 30 species of macropod. Essentially, a wallaby is any macropod that isn't considered large enough to be a kangaroo and has not been given some other name. There is no fixed dividing line. In general, a wallaby is smaller and has a stockier build than a kangaroo. Very small forest-dwelling wallabies are known as pademelons.
Wallabies are widely distributed across Australia, particularly in more remote, heavily timbered, or rugged areas, less so on the great semi-arid plains that are better suited to the larger, leaner, and more fleet-footed kangaroos.
Like possums, wallabies are not a distinct biological group. Nevertheless they fall into several broad categories. Typical wallabies like the Agile Wallaby, the Black Wallaby and the Red-necked Wallaby are most closely related to the kangaroos and, size aside, look very similar. These are the ones most frequently seen, certainly in the southern states.
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Lemurs are part of a class of primates known as prosimians, and make up the infraorder Lemuriformes. These animals are the evolutionary predecessors of monkeys and apes (simians). The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, which means "spirits of the night". This likely refers to many lemurs' nocturnal behavior and their large, reflective eyes.
Lemurs are found naturally only on the island of Madagascar, and some smaller surrounding islands, including the Comoros (where it is likely they were introduced by humans). While they were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys, apes, and other primates, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. These range in size from about 30 grams to perhaps as large as 200 kilograms. The larger species have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar, and since the early 20th century the largest lemurs reach about 7 kilograms. Typically, the smaller lemurs are active at night (nocturnal), while the larger ones are active during the day (diurnal).
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The Ostrich (Struthio camelus) is the largest living bird. It is up to about 2.5 metres (8 feet) in height and flightless, and belongs to the relatively primitive group known as ratites (Palaeognaths).
Other members of the group include rheas, emus, cassowaries and the largest bird ever, now extinct, Aepyornis. Ostriches have very long necks and legs and are capable of running at about 65 km/h (40 mph).
Ostriches occur naturally on the savannas and semi-deserts of Africa, both north and south of the equatorial forest zone. The Middle Eastern race S. c. syriacus is now extinct.
Their feathers do not function as airfoils, but the plumes used to be very popular as ornaments in ladies' hats and such. Ostriches are large enough for a small human to ride them and have been used in some areas of northern Africa and Arabia as racing mounts.
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