Today, rock wallabies are seen as secretive cliff-dwellers that rarely stray far from the safety of their rocky shelters. But the fossil record tells a very different story.

New research suggests rock wallabies were once travellers, moving across country in search of new habitat. These wandering wallabies, including one that travelled over 60 kilometres, were far more mobile than other kangaroos at the time, even their giant extinct cousin Protemnodon.

These findings reshape our understanding of how rock wallabies interact with their environment and how they may respond to the increasingly fragmented landscapes of modern Australia.

Modern rock wallabies spend their days sheltering in rocky caves, crevices, and boulder piles, emerging at dusk to feed. They have tiny home ranges, often less than 0.2 square kilometres.

Rock wallabies aren’t fussy eaters, eating leaves and shoots from grasses or shrubs that grow near their rocky refuges. This has led to the assumption that they don’t travel far, sticking together in small groups on isolated habitats. Why travel far when everything you need is right outside your shelter?

We saw the same pattern in their distant cousin, the giant forest wallaby, Protemnodon, which had small ranges despite their much larger bodies.

Male rock wallabies have been observed occasionally dispersing up to 8km between colonies. While such movements are rare, they may play a crucial role in

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