Area of Focus: Marsupials

Created: Jan 02, 2007
Updated: Aug 06, 2007

Marsupials

Marsupials

Kangaroos, wombats, possums, and wallabies are examples of marsupials. Marsupials are metatherian mammals whose distinguishing features include the birth of their young at an early fetal stage of development inside an external pouch into which the incompletely developed young climb to nurse and finish developing. There are 250 species, mostly in Australia, and about 25 species are threatened. The Tasmanian wolf is extinct.

Keywords

Metatheria, mammals, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, opossums, numbats, Tasmanian wolf, Tasmanian devil, American marsupials, bettongs, cuscuses, bandicoots, billabies, protection, conservation, habitat, animals, koala

Featured Resources

Animal Diversity Web: Metatheria
Over 200 species of marsupials inhabitat the Australasian continent.

Killer Kangaroos and Other Murderous Marsupials
Did you know that the Giant Monitor Lizard weighed up to 620 kg - the same weight as a Formula 1 race car?

Australia's Megafauna
Mega + Fauna = Big + Animals
Giant kangaroos and wombats used to live in Australia, to find out more check out this link