Australia, The Country Of Marsupials
This group of mammals is endemic to America and Australia. But then, why is it said that Australia is the country of marsupials?
Well, because, in fact, they are Australia’s most important terrestrial vertebrates. Of the 378 registered terrestrial mammals, 200 are marsupials.
The country has 11,044 protected areas, covering 1,487,710 square kilometers, or 19.27% of the total area of Australia, which were created in part to protect the only marsupial species in the world.
marsupials in the world
There are about 270 marsupials in the world, 70 are in America and the other 200 in Australia.
The most striking feature of this group is the marsupium (from the Latin marsupium, pouch). The baby carrier is an epidermal pouch where the nipples are located.
When they are born, the puppies are directed to the marsupium, where they are suckled and complete their development.
Depending on the species, the location of the pouch varies in relation to the vagina. The Tasmanian devil, for example, walks a few inches to reach the bag.
In the case of kangaroos, the litter travels a greater “distance” to reach the bag, as it is located in the mother’s breast.
Young people do not leave the bag until their development is complete and, also, the marsupium protects the young from predators.
the country of marsupials
The Australian continent is where the largest number of autochthonous (native) marsupials in the world are registered, which is why Australia is known as the country of marsupials.
Australian marsupials are characterized by the adaptive variety of their species. They are herbivores and carnivores. Because of evolutionary convergence, some species look like rodents or canids.
Australia was initially colonized by the aborigines, more than 40 thousand years ago. Then came the Europeans, in the 1700s, which caused great losses in its fauna.
Hunting, the introduction of exotic species and changes in land use have caused habitat destruction and the extinction of many species of animals; especially from marsupials and various plants.
carnivorous marsupials
They are composed of two current families: Dasyuridae , with 52 species, and the Myrmecobiidae , with Numbat as the sole survivor.
The Tasmanian devil is the largest carnivorous marsupial today, and looks like a small dog. Their eating habits are based on hunting and carrion. It went extinct from Australia 600 years ago, leaving a small population isolated in Tasmania.
The four species of quoll, or native cat, are currently endangered. In addition, small marsupial rats make up the rest of the Dasyuridae family .
The two species of underground carnivores known as marsupial molluscs are blind and deaf and are distributed in the deserts of eastern Australia.
the omnivorous marsupials
Omnivorous species include bandicoots and bilbies. These are composed of seven species in Australia, most are in a critical situation.
They are small animals with remarkable physical characteristics: long snout, large and erect ears, voluminous body, long legs and thin tail.
These marsupials have characteristics of carnivores and herbivores; which makes it difficult to know its evolutionary origin.
Herbivorous marsupials
The koala is arboreal and consumes the leaves of about 120 types of eucalyptus. Vombates have terrestrial habits and feed on grasses, sedges and roots.
Possums are arboreal marsupials, composed of 26 species grouped into six families. The size of family members differs between the seven-gram pygmy Possum and the Pseudocheirus peregrinus , which is similar in size to the domestic cat.
They inhabit eastern Australia, in the eucalyptus forests.
Gliding Possum, or marsupial squirrels, have webs (patagium), which extend from the fifth finger of the hand to the first toe. These membranes make it easy to jump between trees.
Kangaroos, wallabies, betongs and kangaroo rats form three families that are distributed throughout Australia, except in mountainous areas.
Are they:
- Hypsiprimonodontidae; the musk kangaroo rat is the only species in the family.
- Among the Potoroidae are betongos, potorous and other kangaroo rats, which are divided into ten species. This family includes small species with a tail adapted to transport plant matter.
- Macropodidae consisted of 53 species, but many became extinct. Among the best known are: kangaroos and wallabies. Most Macropodidae are bipedal, moving through jumps. Therefore, they have a muscular tail and long hind legs, with long, narrow feet, with four toes. The front legs are short and have five fingers.
This group varies considerably in size. The musk kangaroo rat is the smallest representative, with a maximum weight of 680 grams, and the largest is the red kangaroo, with an approximate height of two meters and a maximum weight of 85 kilos.
Because of this wide variety of marsupials, Australia is considered the country of marsupials.
However, it also has several other mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Despite this, marsupials attract much more attention because of their distinctive characteristics.
