Anne Bishop, in her world-building,
could not resist
Australia's quokka.

So she put it in her 'The Others' books without naming it
or citing its source.
Material online outside of her books discloses that
Ms. Bishop was thinking of the quokka
for the creatures that turn up in
Lake Silence.

Where they are called 'Sproingers'
and they have a whole town named after them.