CreatureData

Broad-faced potoroo

Potorous platyops (Gould, 1844)

EXExtinctmarsupialsExtinct

The broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops) is a species in the family Potoroidae, order Diprotodontia. Recorded adults weigh about 500 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Extinct.

Broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops)
Photo: John Gould · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the broad-faced potoroo

Weight
500 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Extinct (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the broad-faced potoroo live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The broad-faced potoroo is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the broad-faced potoroo?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops) is an extinct potoroid marsupial that was found in southwestern Australia. The first specimen was collected in 1839, and described by John Gould in 1844. Only a small number of specimens have been collected since. The last live capture was in 1875. Subfossil remains indicate that it had an extensive distribution around the semiarid coastal districts of Southwest Australia.

The habitat of the broad-faced potoroo is almost entirely unknown, but unlike its relatives, such as the long-nosed potoroo Potorous tridactylus and long-footed Potorous longipes, they do not seem to have lived in dense understories in forests. Preserved specimens indicate that it was smaller than other potoroos at around 300 mm (1 ft) long with a 180-mm tail. Their weight is estimated at 800 g. Their coat was grizzled with yellowish hairs above and greyish white below. Their body was similar in shape to that of other potoroids. Their ears were small and rounded, muzzle fairly short, and cheeks notably puffy.

From the Wikipedia article “Broad-faced potoroo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Broad-faced_potoroo&oldid=1371171816), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the broad-faced potoroo endangered?

The broad-faced potoroo is listed as Extinct on the IUCN Red List: it no living individuals remain.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Extinct species. What the categories mean.

How is the broad-faced potoroo classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderDiprotodontia
  5. familyPotoroidae
  6. genusPotorous
  7. SpeciesPotorous platyops (Gould, 1844)

Synonyms Hypsiprymnus platyops, Potorous morgani

Other names and names in other languages (8)
  • klokánek malýCzech
  • BreitkopfkänguruGerman
  • leveäotsapotoriFinnish
  • ヒロガオネズミカンガルーJapanese
  • BreedkopkangoeroeratDutch
  • kanguroszczur szerokolicyPolish
  • Potoro-de-cara-largaPortuguese
  • Широкоголовый кенгуруRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the broad-faced potoroo

Other species in the same genus Potorous.

CompareBroad-faced potoroo vs Gilbert's potorooBroad-faced potoroo vs Long-footed potorooBroad-faced potoroo vs Long-nosed potorooBroad-faced potoroo vs Hypsiprymnus formosus

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the broad-faced potoroo?

An adult broad-faced potoroo weighs 500 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the broad-faced potoroo live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the broad-faced potoroo for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the broad-faced potoroo endangered?

The broad-faced potoroo is listed as Extinct on the IUCN Red List, meaning it no living individuals remain.

What kind of animal is the broad-faced potoroo?

The broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops) belongs to the family Potoroidae in the order Diprotodontia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-faced-potoroo

MLA

“Broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-faced-potoroo.

BibTeX
@misc{broad_faced_potoroo_2026,
  title = {Broad-faced potoroo (Potorous platyops)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/broad-faced-potoroo},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}