What is the difference between a wallaby and a kangaroo?When my father was stationed in New Guinea during World War II, he was amused by wallabies hopping through the soldiers’ camp. He told me that the only difference between a wallaby and a kangaroo is foot size.
wallaby
Kangaroos have feet that are longer than 10 inches; and any kangaroo with feet smaller than that is a wallaby. In fact, wallabies are sometimes referred to as lesser kangaroos.
Kangaroos
There are more than 50 species of wallabies and kangaroos, and they vary in size from palm-sized to the giant red kangaroo, which stands more than 6 feet tall. The six largest species of these marsupials are referred to as kangaroos.
Kangaroos and wallabies belong to the family Macropodidae, which means “big feet” in Latin. Kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos, quokkas, pademelons, potoroos, rat-kangaroos, honey possums, and tree kangaroos are all macropods.