Serological Evidence for Speciation in the Grey Kangaroo, Macropus giganteus Shaw 1790 (Marsupialia : Macropodidae)

Abstract

THE taxonomy of grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus and “subspecies”) is at present poorly understood; the number of species recognized by currently accepted authorities ranges from one¹ to four². As part of a broad taxonomic study we collected the blood sera of 839 animals from more than forty localities throughout the range of the grey kangaroos and measured antigenic and electro-phoretic variations in the serum proteins. We hoped to find differences, characteristic of particular groups of animals, which would correlate with geographical or taxonomic groups, and which might be useful in determining the degree of mixing and interbreeding between such groups. The details of these studies will be published elsewhere; here we wish to summarize the results as they relate to the problem of speciation in grey kangaroos.