There are two subclasses of mammals - first animals and real animals. The first group includes single pass. They differ from the second ones in that they lay their eggs, however, the cubs hatched from them are fed with milk. Real animals are divided into two superorders - marsupials and placental mammals.
The former differ from the latter in that, during pregnancy, the female does not form a placenta - a temporary organ that provides a link between the mother and daughter. But such animals have a bag that is designed to carry a baby that is born incapable of independent life. This squad includes only one squad - Marsupials. And all other orders belong to the placental, such as artiodactyls, pinnipeds, carnivores, primates, bats, etc.
Classification
Marsupial mammals in the taxonomy of animals occupy an ambiguous position. According to some systems, this group of organisms is a detachment, and according to others - an infraclass. For example, take a koala. According to one of the options, its place in the classification looks like this:
- Domain - Eukaryotes.
- Kingdom - Animals.
- Type - Chordates.
- Subtype - Vertebrates.
- Class - Mammals.
- Squad - Marsupials.
- Family - Wombat.
According to another option - like this:
- Domain - Eukaryotes.
- Kingdom - Animals.
- Type - Chordates.
- Subtype - Vertebrates.
- Class - Mammals.
- Infraclass - Marsupials.
- Squad - Two-tartars marsupials.
- Suborder - Wombat.
- Family - Koalov.
Characterization of marsupial mammals
Most of the species of this order are endemic, that is, they live only in a particular area. Most often it is Australia. Almost all marsupial mammals of the planet live on this continent. Most marsupials are listed in the Red Book.
Also, representatives of this group of animals inhabit New Guinea and are found in South and North America. Marsupial mammals are divided into nine families: Opossum, Marsupial anteaters, Bandicoot, Predatory marsupials, Colefoot, Possum, Kangaroo, Wombat, Marsupial moles. The most ancient and most primitive of the families of this order are Opossumovye, from them all other animals of this group evolved. Let's take a closer look at each family and its representatives.
Marsupials outside of Australia
The oldest family is Opossumovy. Animals belonging to this group are one of the few marsupials that live outside of Australia.
They are common in America. This family includes marsupial mammals such as smoky, oriental, brownie, velvet, American possums. These are small animals, about 10 cm long, with a long tail and thick hair. They lead mainly a nocturnal lifestyle, feed on insects and a variety of fruits. These animals are good at pretending to be dead in case of danger. Also outside Australia, in South America, some species of kangaroos live, for example, wallaby.
Representatives of the order Marsupials living in Australia
These include most of the animals in this group. The most famous of these are mammals of the Kangaroo family. Representatives such as the big red kangaroo, bear kangaroo, long-eared kangaroo, western gray kangaroo, etc. belong to it. These are large animals with a large tail, which serves as additional support for them. These mammals have underdeveloped forepaws, but strong hind legs, which allows them to move by jumping long distances. The main diet of kangaroos consists of plants. The cubs of these animals are born only three centimeters in length, the gestational age of the female is only about 30 days (up to 40, depending on the species). In addition, kangaroo rats belong to this family. No less common in Australia are wombats. These are small animals, the muzzle of which is somewhat reminiscent of a bear, but their teeth are almost the same as those of rodents.
Wombats feed on the roots of various plants, all kinds of fruits and seeds. Their forepaws have large claws, which allows them to dig soil more efficiently, because wombats are one of the animals that spend most of their life in burrows underground. Marsupial moles are also characterized by similar behavior - these are small animals that eat beetle larvae and seeds. They also differ in that they do not have a constant body temperature.
Red marsupials
The most famous of these are koalas. They are on the verge of extinction, since the only product they eat is eucalyptus leaves, and not all - of the 800 species of this plant, only 100 are eaten by koalas. Also, the ring-tailed kangaroo, northern long-haired wombat, marten marten and others are listed in the Red Book. .
The largest and smallest animals of the order Marsupials
The largest mammal in this group is the large gray kangaroo, and the smallest is the Posum honey badger, which feeds on plant pollen. The largest marsupial animal lives in South and Western Australia. Its weight can reach fifty kilograms, and height - a little more than a meter.
The smallest marsupial mammal - Acrobates pygmaeus - lives only in Australia. Its weight rarely exceeds fifteen grams. This animal has a long tongue, it is needed in order to make it easier to get pollen and nectar from plants. Also, one of the smallest marsupial animals can be called a marsupial mouse, whose weight is also about ten grams.