Modern Marsupials

This table provides details on all the modern orders of marsupials. For a list of families please see Marsupial Subgroups

No. of Species

Representative Animal

Description

Notes

Ameridelphia

Ameridelphia is the magnorder that includes all the marsupials living in the Americas except for Dromiciops

Didelphimorphia

63

An American Opossum

Small to medium-sized marsupials
Semi-arboreal omnivores - but there are many exceptions
Most have long snouts
A narrow braincase
A prominent saggital crest (a bone crest running the longitudinally along the centre of the dorsal surface of the skull
The dental formula (on one side of the jaw); 5 incisors (4 on the lower jaw), 1 canine, 3 premolars, 4 molars
Plantigrade stance (feet flat on the ground)
Prehensile tails
Reproductive systems very basic, reduced marsupium (pouch)
Opportunistic omnivores, with a broad range of diet

Contains the common opossums of the western hemisphere
As basically generalists, they are good colonizers. They are therefore rapidly colonising North America
Probably diverged from the South American opossum during the Cretaecous of Paleocene

Paucituberculata

6
No Image Avaliable

Small, shrew-like marsupials about the size of a small rat
Thin limbs, long, poinrd snout and a slender hairy tail
Insectivores - active hunters of insects
Small eyes and poor eye sight and hunt during the evening and at night, using their hearing and long sensitive whiskers to locate prey
Spend much of their live in underground burrows and along surface trackways

Also known as the rate opossom
Confined to the Andes of South America and live in inaccessible forest and grassland regions of the high Andes
Order diverged from the ancestoral marsupial line very early
Because of their inaccessible habitat they are poorly understood and considered rarer than they actually are

Australidelphia
A magnorder that contains roughly three-quarters of all marsupials, including all those native to Australia and a single species from South America.

Microbiotheria

1

Semi-arboreal
Only slightly larger than a mouse
thick based, moderatley prehensile tail
Weight varies between 17 and 31 grams
Coat of short, dense, silky fur,brown on the upper side with ashy white patche, and paler underneath
Short, rounded ears
Black rings around the eyes
Found only in the mountains of Chile and Argentina, in dense humid forests, especially where bamboo is present
Resonably common
Largely carnivorous - insects and small fruit
Nocturnal
Excellent climbers, using both their feet and tail, but are equally at home on the ground.
Accumulate fat reserves in tail
Carry young in a pouch

Only a single species belong to this group - The Monito del Monte - the 'little mountain monkey'.
Thought to be more closely related to the marsupials of Australia than those of the Americas
Also known as the Colocolo or Chimaihuen

Dasyuromorphia
63

A quoll

A Quoll

Marsupial carnivores
All have similar carnivorous morphology - many species convergent with placental species

Perametemorphia

21

Omnivores
Most have the characteristic bandicoot shape; a plump, arched-back body with a long, delicately tapiring snout, very large upright ears, relatively long thin legs and a thin tail
Size varies from 140g to 2kg, but most species are about the weight of a half grown kitten (1kg)
All members are polyprotodont (have several pairs of lower front teeth)

All members endemic to twin land masses of Australia- New Guinea
Phylogeny of the family long controversial as two distinct characters suggest a connection with two other families

Notoryctemorphia

2
No No Image Avaliable

Most of their time is spent underground
Blind
No external ears, just a pair of tiny holes hidden under thick hair
cone-shaped head, with a leathery shield over the muzzle
The body is tubular and the a short, bald stub.
12 -14 cm long
40-60g
Short cream hair with an irridescent goldern sheen
Pouch has evolved to open backwards so that it does not fill with sand

Two species; the Northern Australian (Notoryctes typhlops) and the Southern Australian Mole (Notoryctes cauinus), but they are so similar to one another that they cannot be reliable told apart
Fossilized ancestor found in the Riversleigh fossil deposits. This suggested that it lived in a tropical rainforest, completely differnt to the desert sand-dune areas in lives in today

Diprotodontia

117

Diprotodont - a pair of large, procumbent incisors on the lower jaw, a common feature of many early mammals and mammaliforms
Syndactyly - the second and third toes of thier feet are fused together
Almost all herbivores. Those that are insectivorous and omnivorous are thought to be derived from an original herbivorous habit

Examples include the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala and wombats
Order includes the 'Marsupial Lion'
Restricted to Australia
Many of the largest and least athletic became extinct when humans first entered Australia 50 000 years ago.

Images used, with permission, from Wikipedia and NaturePortfolio

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Characters/ anatomy
- Monotremes
- Marsupials
Major subgroups
- Monotremes
- Marsupials
Fossil record
- Monotremes
- Marsupials
Modern forms
- Monotremes
- Marsupials
Literature and web links

Author: Catrin Roberts
Last updated: 23.11.83
Return to Fossil groups home page

Websites produced by students on the MSc Palaeobiology programme in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol for academic year 2005-6

	No. of Species	Representative Animal	Description	Notes
Ameridelphia	Ameridelphia is the magnorder that includes all the marsupials living in the Americas except for Dromiciops
Didelphimorphia	63	An American Opossum	Small to medium-sized marsupials Semi-arboreal omnivores - but there are many exceptions Most have long snouts A narrow braincase A prominent saggital crest (a bone crest running the longitudinally along the centre of the dorsal surface of the skull The dental formula (on one side of the jaw); 5 incisors (4 on the lower jaw), 1 canine, 3 premolars, 4 molars Plantigrade stance (feet flat on the ground) Prehensile tails Reproductive systems very basic, reduced marsupium (pouch) Opportunistic omnivores, with a broad range of diet	Contains the common opossums of the western hemisphere As basically generalists, they are good colonizers. They are therefore rapidly colonising North America Probably diverged from the South American opossum during the Cretaecous of Paleocene
Paucituberculata	6	No Image Avaliable	Small, shrew-like marsupials about the size of a small rat Thin limbs, long, poinrd snout and a slender hairy tail Insectivores - active hunters of insects Small eyes and poor eye sight and hunt during the evening and at night, using their hearing and long sensitive whiskers to locate prey Spend much of their live in underground burrows and along surface trackways	Also known as the rate opossom Confined to the Andes of South America and live in inaccessible forest and grassland regions of the high Andes Order diverged from the ancestoral marsupial line very early Because of their inaccessible habitat they are poorly understood and considered rarer than they actually are

Australidelphia	A magnorder that contains roughly three-quarters of all marsupials, including all those native to Australia and a single species from South America.
Microbiotheria	1		Semi-arboreal Only slightly larger than a mouse thick based, moderatley prehensile tail Weight varies between 17 and 31 grams Coat of short, dense, silky fur,brown on the upper side with ashy white patche, and paler underneath Short, rounded ears Black rings around the eyes Found only in the mountains of Chile and Argentina, in dense humid forests, especially where bamboo is present Resonably common Largely carnivorous - insects and small fruit Nocturnal Excellent climbers, using both their feet and tail, but are equally at home on the ground. Accumulate fat reserves in tail Carry young in a pouch	Only a single species belong to this group - The Monito del Monte - the 'little mountain monkey'. Thought to be more closely related to the marsupials of Australia than those of the Americas Also known as the Colocolo or Chimaihuen
Dasyuromorphia	63	A quoll A Quoll		Marsupial carnivores All have similar carnivorous morphology - many species convergent with placental species
Perametemorphia	21		Omnivores Most have the characteristic bandicoot shape; a plump, arched-back body with a long, delicately tapiring snout, very large upright ears, relatively long thin legs and a thin tail Size varies from 140g to 2kg, but most species are about the weight of a half grown kitten (1kg) All members are polyprotodont (have several pairs of lower front teeth)	All members endemic to twin land masses of Australia- New Guinea Phylogeny of the family long controversial as two distinct characters suggest a connection with two other families
Notoryctemorphia	2	No No Image Avaliable	Most of their time is spent underground Blind No external ears, just a pair of tiny holes hidden under thick hair cone-shaped head, with a leathery shield over the muzzle The body is tubular and the a short, bald stub. 12 -14 cm long 40-60g Short cream hair with an irridescent goldern sheen Pouch has evolved to open backwards so that it does not fill with sand	Two species; the Northern Australian (Notoryctes typhlops) and the Southern Australian Mole (Notoryctes cauinus), but they are so similar to one another that they cannot be reliable told apart Fossilized ancestor found in the Riversleigh fossil deposits. This suggested that it lived in a tropical rainforest, completely differnt to the desert sand-dune areas in lives in today
Diprotodontia	117		Diprotodont - a pair of large, procumbent incisors on the lower jaw, a common feature of many early mammals and mammaliforms Syndactyly - the second and third toes of thier feet are fused together Almost all herbivores. Those that are insectivorous and omnivorous are thought to be derived from an original herbivorous habit	Examples include the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala and wombats Order includes the 'Marsupial Lion' Restricted to Australia Many of the largest and least athletic became extinct when humans first entered Australia 50 000 years ago.