A comparison of the insulative and reflective properties of the fur of desert kangaroos

Abstract

• 1.

  1. The reflectivity of the furs of two species of desert kangaroo to solar radiation was measured and the effect of season, site on body, and wind speed on their fur insulation was determined.

• 2.

  2. The red kangaroo Megaleia rufa which lives on the exposed open plain has fur which gives greater protection from solar radiation in summer and from heat loss in winter than does that of the euro or hill kangaroo Macropus robustus, which shelters in caves and under rock ledges.

• 3.

  3. The fur insulation of both the kangaroos is similar to that of tropical and temperate zone eutherian mammals, even though they have a much lower basal heat production than eutherians.