The red-legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) is a species of small macropod found on the northeastern coast of Australia and in New Guinea.

In Australia it has a scattered distribution from the tip of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to around Tamworth in New South Wales.

Like many marsupials, the newborn pademelon is underdeveloped and is carried and nursed in a pouch on the mother's belly.

Red-legged pademelons have soft thick fur, grey-brown on the back and cream on the belly.

Pademelons have a short and thick tail, and their height can range from 35–58 cm when not standing upright.

Distribution is discontinuous, especially in the north where it appears to be limited by the availability of vegetation providing satisfactory cover.

The red-legged pademelon seems to prefer rainforest areas, but is also found near both sclerophyll and dry vine scrubs.

Extensive rainforest clearing has reduced its available habitat, but sufficient parks and reserves currently exist throughout their range to secure their status.

A higher number of forest fragments means the pademelons have more adequate pastures that provide them with sufficient food.

They sometimes eat the fishbone fern, king orchid, and grasses like Paspalum notatum and Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum.

They affect regeneration of the rainforest as they browse on the young trees and can seriously impede their growth or even kill them.

This causes the blastocyst, or new embryo, to enter a state of suspended animation until its older sibling is old enough to leave the pouch.

Embryonic diapause is highly efficient as it allows for the rapid replacement of lost or deceased young.

Late afternoon, evening and early morning they can be seen grazing on open grassland near the rainforest edges but quickly retreat into the forest if disturbed.

In hostile interactions and if a female rejects a male during courtship, a harsh rasping sound is uttered.

[citation needed] The security of their family structure, as well as their speed and agility in closed rainforest protects them against most feral animal attacks.

The main predators of Thylogale stigmatica are dingoes, tiger quolls, amethystine pythons, and occasionally feral domestic dogs.