Family Dasyuridae
Resulting in their multiple
-has 17 genera and 76 species
EXTINCTION
-Monophyletic family
Size: range from smallest, the tiny Pilbara ningaui to
the largest extant marsupial carnivore
Tasmanian devil
Habitat: occur throughout Australia and New
guinea, occupying all terrestrial and
semiarboreal habitats from desert to high
elevation rain forests
-Primarily nocturnal or crepuscular(active at dawn
and dusk) and solitary
-Have 42-46 teeth specialized for a carnivorous or
insectivorous diet.
-Marsupium is poorly developed or absent
- Incrassated tails occur in several genera that
inhabit deserts, including dunnarts
(Sminthopsis), pseudantechinuses
(Pseudantechinus), and mulgaras (Dasycercus)
SPECIES
Antechinus- male exhibit a mass die-off after mating
in the first yea of life, their mortality results
from effects of high levels of testosterone and
cortisol on multiple organ systems. Females
survive to raise litters and can mate again the
following year.
paternity.
Several are endangered. The kangaroo island
dunnart (S. aitkeni ) is critically endangered
with fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild.
Several other species of dasyurids are
threatened due to habitat degradation and
invasive species
Order Peramelemorphia
-Bandicoots (peramelidae) and bilbies (rabit-
eared bandicoots) occur throughout Australia.
- all living species are terrestrial omnivores,
feeding on invertebrates, small vertebrates, and
plant material, recently extinct pig-footed
bandicoot (Chaeropus ecaudatus) was
herbivorous.
- ccupy arid deserts to tropical rainforest and
jungle often at high elevations
-Has chorioallantoic placentae which is unusual
among marsupials. Unlike eutherians, however,
the placentae have no villi; thus, gestation
periods in these species are no longer than in
other metatherians. In fact, both the northern
brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) and the
long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) have
gestation periods of 12.5 days—the shortest
known among mammals.
- there were debates considering their
phylogenetic relationships, there are
systematists that provided an assessment based
on nuclear ang mitochondrial dna sequences.
Bilbies (Macrotis, Thylacomyidae) are sister to
all other extant bandicoots (Peramelidae). The
recently extinct pig-footed bandicoots
(Chaeropus, Chaeropodidae), are sister to living
bandicoots and bilbies.
Morphology:
-have short, compact, body, with long pointed
rostrum. Adapted for diigging with strong claws
on the second, third, and fourth digits of the
forefeet.
-all species are Syndatylous with the second and
third hind digits joined in a common skin
sheath, a convergent trait shared with
diprotodontians.
- Hind limbs are larger than forelimbs, and the
hind feet have a well-developed claw on the
enlarged fourth digit (Figure 10.28). Bandicoots
are unique among marsupials in having a well-
developed patella (kneecap) and no clavicle
(collar bone)
- Dentition is polyprotodont, with 5 pairs of upper
incisors and 48 total teeth (46 in some bilbies).
The canines are well developed, and the molars
are adapted for an omnivorous diet
- The marsupium also is well developed and opens
posteriorly. There are 8 teats, even though
mean litter size usually is 4. This allows
consecutive litters to be produced, as teats
remain swollen after nursing the previous litter,
and incoming neonates cannot attach to them.
FOSSIL HISTORY:
The bandicoot fossil record of some 9 genera
(mostly stem lineages to the living forms) dates
from the late Oligocene. Molecular data
suggest, however, that the order originated in
the Paleocene (ca. 60 mya), with subsequent
diversification of peramelids in the Miocene and
early Pliocene.
The precise timing of this diversification is
contentious, particularly whether it preceded or
was caused by the mid-Miocene drying of
Australia.
Economics and conservation
-systematists showed that foraging (digging) by
southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus)
is a critical mechanism for soil turnover in
Western Australia.
- Many species of peramelids have suffered
significant population and range declines from
presettlement times because of introduced
predators and habitat loss to domestic
livestock.
- Species of Peroryctes are hunted for food in
New Guinea.
Family Peramelidae
- The 6 genera and 20 species of living bandicoots
(Figure 10.29) occur in a variety of habitats,
primarily in Australia.

SIZE: Bandicoots range in size from the mouse
bandicoot (Microperoryctes murina), with a
maximum head and body length of 17 cm and
tail of 11 cm, to the giant bandicoot (Peroryctes
broadbenti), which reaches a total length of
90 cm and body mass of 5 kg.
- The 5 species of New Guinean spiny bandicoots
(Echymipera) and the endangered Seram Island
bandicoot (Rhynchomeles prattorum) lack the
fifth upper incisor found in other
peramelemorphs.
- All species are nocturnal, terrestrial, and solitary.
They are insectivorous or omnivorous and occur
in grassland, shrub, and rainforest habitats.
- Both groups exhibit sexual dimorphism, with
males being larger than females.
- Bandicoots have short, coarse pelage, often with
stiff, quilllike guard hairs and relatively small
ears and tail.
EXTINCT?
- In addition to the recently extinct desert
bandicoot (Perameles eremiana), several
peramelids are listed as endangered
- Echymipera davidi is known from only a small
area on the island of Kiriwina off the southeast
coast of New Guinea, where human population
growth and agricultural land conversion are
driving habitat decline.
- Peroryctes broadbenti from southeastern New
Guinea is threatened by hunting and habitat
loss to oil palm plantations.
- Rhynchomeles prattorum is known only from
seven specimens collected in the 1920s on the
island of Seram; its forest habitat is being
rapidly cleared and populated with introduced
predators.
Family Thylacomyidae
- There are two recognized species of bilbies: The
threatened greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis)
occurs in arid habitats of northwestern in
Australia, much reduced from its historic range.
And the lesser bilby (M. leucura) probably
became extinct in the 1960s.
Comparison of the two bilbies?
Greater bilbies: e digestive physiology is flexible
to accommodate both plants and animals in
their diet, which allows them to survive in the
arid regions to which they are now restricted
- Body mass of bilbies reaches 2.5 kg. Like
peramelids,
- they have a chorioallantoic placenta and short
gestation period.
-Bilbies have a long tail, 50%–60% of the head and
body length, and longer, silkier pelage than
bandicoots (Figure 10.30).
- Their long, rabbit-like ears reach beyond the tip - Like eutherian moles, the body of Notoryctes
of the snout and are folded over the eyes when is fusiform (torpedo-shaped, compact, and
individuals sleep. tapered) and adapted for a fossorial existence.

- Bilbies are powerful burrowers; unlike
bandicoots, they construct their own burrows.
- In the form of a deeply angled spiral that can be
2 m deep, burrows offer a refuge from desert
heat during the day. Wild greater bilbies
produce up to 4 litters per year, a much higher
reproductive rate than in captive populations.
Order Notoryctemorphia
- Maximum head and body length of adults is
about 14 cm, with a stubby tail 2–3 cm long.
Adults weigh about 60 g. The iridescent pelage
is long and silky.
- Other fossorial adaptations include strong
forelimbs with greatly enlarged, scoop-like
claws on the third and fourth digits
(Figure 10.31)

- this order encompasses a single family

Notoryctidae , which includes the southern
marsupial mole (Notoryctes typhlops), known
by Aboriginal people as “itjaritjari,” and the
northern marsupial mole (N. caurinus), or
“kakarratul”

- They represent the only completely fossorial

marsupials.

- Notoryctes is widely distributed over much of - There is a thick, keratinized nasal shield used to
northwestern and central Australia, occurring in push dirt, and the cervical vertebrae are fused
shrub-desert areas and sandy bottomland soils. for added rigidity. There are no pinnae. Located
under the skin, the vestigial eyes are 1 mm in
- Their diet consists primarily of ants, termites,
diameter and have no lens; the optic nerve is
and beetle larvae which are taken as individuals
greatly reduced.
burrow through soil
- Reduced epipubic bones occur in both sexes.
- Although their morphological characteristics
Dentition is variable, with 40–44 teeth. The
(noted below) are convergently similar to those
occlusal surface of the molars is zalambdodont
of unrelated eutherian talpids and
(V-shaped), which is unusual among marsupials.
chrysochlorids , marsupial moles have a
During the breeding season, females have a
different manner of burrowing. They essentially
well-developed marsupium that opens
“swim” through the ground—substrate
posteriorly. The testes are never scrotal but lie
collapses behind them and they leave no
between the skin and the abdominal wall.
permanent tunnels . They also spend much
more time foraging on the surface than FOSSIL HISTORY
eutherian moles and are active both day and
- Notoryctids are known from the early Miocene
night. Little is known of their reproductive
of northwest Queensland. The extinct
biology.
Naraboryctes appears to have achieved the
MORPHOLOGY: same degree of fossorial adaptation as the
extant Notoryctes, suggesting an even more
 ancient origin for moles’ subterranean lifestyle.
It was estimated that a Paleocene divergence of
noryctemorphians from bandicoots.
ECONOMICS AND CONSERVATION:
- Marsupial moles are eaten by Australian
Aborigines, who follow distinctive trails left by
the moles when traveling on the surface.
- Introduced foxes and cats also prey upon moles.
- Neither species of mole has any impact on
grazing lands. Although both were formerly
considered endangered, they are now
considered of “least concern” by the IUCN.
Order Diprotodontia
- This diverse order of 11 extant families includes
the familiar kangaroos, koala, wombats, and
numerous other primarily herbivorous
marsupials.
- As might be expected, given the approximately
155 species in this order, adaptive radiation has
been extensive
- Species feed on insects, nectar, leaves, or fruit,
or they are omnivores. Many species are
terrestrial, but some are arboreal.
-As noted above (Figure 10.17)
,
4 major clades are now recognized: (1)
wombats and koala constitute Vombatiformes;
(2) Macropodiformes encompasses Potoroidae
(potoroos and bettongs), Macropodidae
(kangaroos and wallabies), and
Hypsiprymnodontidae (musky ratkangaroo); (3)
Phalangeroidea comprises Burramyidae (pygmy
possums) and Phalangeridae (phalangers and
cuscuses); and (4) Petauroidea includes
Acrobatidae (feathertail possums), Tarsipedidae
(honey possum), Pseudocheridae (ringtail
possums), and Petauridae (gliders and
relatives).
MORPHOLOGY
- All species are diprotodont with an enlarged and
procumbent I2 on each side; the second and
third hind digits are syndactylous, convergently
with bandicoots.
- In many arboreal diprotodonts, including the
koala (Phascolarctidae), ringtail possums
(Pseudocheiridae), and cuscuses
(Phalangeridae), the first two digits of the
forefeet oppose the other three digits
(Figure 10.32)—that is, they are
schizodactylous.
- On the hind feet, the big toe (hallux) is also
opposable. This is not the case in terrestrial
species, however.
 - Dental adaptations include a large pair of
lower incisors and three pairs of smaller upper
incisors (although wombats have a single pair of
upper and lower incisors). Upper canines are
variable in size and shape; there are no lower
canines.

FOSSIL HISTORY-

Fossil History. The earliest fossil diprotodonts

date from late Oligocene deposits of Australia,
although molecular evidence points to earlier
origins. The Pleistocene Diprotodon
(Diprotodontidae) was the largest marsupial
that ever lived (at ca. 2,800 kg).
ECONOMICS AND CONSERVATION:
- Many diprotodonts compete with domestic
livestock on grazing lands.
-Other species have been (and still are) hunted
for meat or hides.
-Some species of wallabies and kangaroos have
been seriously reduced in density and
distribution following European settlement,
with several recent extinctions attributed to
habitat loss or introduced predators.
9INSERT TIKTOK VVID ABOUT KANGAROO
Order Vombatiformes
Family Phascolarctidae
The familiar koala, with a superficial
resemblance to a small bear (Figure 10.33), is
the only extant species in this family.
- The family was once quite diverse, however,
with seven fossil genera described.
- Black and colleagues (2012) discussed
Priscakoala lucyturnbullae from Miocene
deposits of northern Australia. Koalas occur in
Eucalyptus woodlands throughout eastern and
southeastern Australia. Both koalas and
wombats (Vombatiformes) have a marsupium
that opens posteriorly and vestigial tails
(unusual in an arboreal species) and lack the
first two premolars, among several other shared
features.
- Unlike wombats, the koala has three upper
incisors, and the dentition is closed-rooted (i.e.,
not ever-growing). The angle of the dentary in
koalas is not inflected, unlike in any other
marsupial except the honey possum (see
Table 10.2).

- Koalas are sexually dimorphic, with males 50%

larger than females. Both sexes produce low-
frequency bellows during the breeding season
- Larger males have deeper bellows—a reliable ECONOMIC AND CONSERVATION
index to body size—which translates to
- As one of the most recognizable marsupials,
increased mating potential. Both sexes have a
koalas are important as a modern tourist
highly derived vocal anatomy in which the
attraction. Hundreds of thousands of koalas
larynx is permanently descended and
were harvested annually as part of the fur trade
retractable, and novel vocal folds outside the
in Queensland from about 1906 through 1927
larynx are present.
- The current conservation status of koalas is
- Females produce distinct vocalizations
“vulnerable,” mostly due to anthropogenic
(“rejection calls”) when they refuse male
habitat degradation, disease, and introduced
copulation attempts
predators
- With body mass ranging from 6.5 to 12.5 kg,
Family Vombatidae
koalas are among the largest arboreal browsers
and are on the ground only while moving - The 2 genera and 3 species of wombats are
between trees. short-limbed, plantigrade, powerful burrowers
(Figure 10.34).
- Koalas move between trees daily, both day and
night; daytime resting trees are not necessarily
the same as nighttime feeding trees

- They do not build a nest but simply rest in the

forks of trees

- showed that koalas use trees to thermoregulate

in hot weather, the cool trunks serving as a sink
for conductive loss of body heat

- Koalas are unusual among herbivores in their

highly selective, specialized diet: leaves, stems,
flowers, and even bark of numerous species of
Eucalyptus. This is very poor-quality forage, but
koalas have reduced energy requirements,
moving slowly and remaining inactive up to 20
hours a day. - Adult body mass is about 30 kg.

- Like bandicoots and bilbies, koalas have a
chorioallantoic placenta; but because there are
no chorionic villi, gestation is only about 35
days.
- Koalas can have young any month of the year,
but Ellis and colleagues (2011) found that 60%
of births occurred between December and
March.
- The common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is
found in forested areas of southeastern
Australia and Tasmania.
- The southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus
latifrons) inhabits semiarid regions of southern
Australia, and the critically endangered
northern hairy-nosed wombat (L. krefftii) is now
restricted to a 500-ha portion of Epping Forest
National Park in central Queensland

- Although they share several characteristics with

the koala, wombats have distinct features that
 reflect their terrestrial, grazing, semifossorial
existence
- Dentition is open-rooted and continuously
growing, which is unique among marsupials.
- Wombats are nocturnal and consume grasses
and forbs; their broad skull, robust jaw
musculature, and bilophodont cheek teeth are
well adapted for chewing such tough, abrasive
food
- Like rodents, they have a single pair of upper
and lower incisors, no canines, and a reduced
number of premolars (Figure 10.35).
- nlike the koala, they have a poorly developed
cecum.
- During hot, dry days, Lasiorhinus wombats
minimize time on the surface by remaining in
deep, extensive, interconnected burrow
systems. Benefits of burrows include protection
from predators, fires, and harsh ambient
conditions
- Nonetheless, construction of burrows is
energetically demanding, and wombats have a
poor-quality diet. Their metabolic rate is
extremely low, even for a marsupial
- Most burrowing mammals are small; if large,
they eat high-energy insects. Wombats are the
largest burrowing herbivores and yet have small
home ranges throughout the year, given their
body size.
- They are seasonal breeders. The well-developed
marsupium, with 2 teats, opens posteriorly. A
single offspring is born after gestation of 21
days and leaves the pouch permanently about 9
months after birth.
Oder Phalangeroidea
Family Burramyidae
- There are 2 genera and 5 species of pygmy
possums—the smallest of the possums.
- Mean body mass of adults ranges from 7 to 50 g,
and head and body length is only 5–12 cm.
- The critically endangered mountain pygmy
possum (Burramys parvus) is limited to
terrestrial alpine areas above 1,300  m elevation
in southeastern Australia (a habitat threatened
by climate change) This species was known only
from fossil remains until 1966, when a live
animal was taken at Mount Higginbotham.
- Unlike most endangered mammals, B. parvus
appears to have high levels of genetic diversity
within population.
- Shi and coworkers (2015) documented the
importance of alpine boulder fields as thermal
refuges for mountain pygmy possum.
- The remaining burramyids, all species of
Cercartetus, are arboreal and occur in a variety
of habitats in Australia and Tasmania
(Figure 10.36). One species, the long-tailed
pygmy possum (C. caudatus), also occurs in
New Guinea. Tails are long and prehensile, the
pouch opens anteriorly, and, like macropodids,
females exhibit embryonic diapause.
 Family Phalangeridae

- This family includes 4 species of brushtail

possums (Trichosurus), the scaly-tailed possum
(Wyulda squamicaudata), and 4 genera and 25
species of cuscuses.

- Brushtail possums and the scaly-tailed possum

- Pygmy possums are nocturnal and omnivorous,
consuming invertebrates, fruits, seeds, nectar,
and pollen.
- They have long, extensible, “brushed” tongues
with an extensive system of papillae, which are
especially well developed in Cercartetus.
Papillae may serve to increase the surface area
for uptake of nectar and pollen
- They have long, extensible, “brushed” tongues
with an extensive system of papillae, which are
especially well developed in Cercartetus.
Papillae may serve to increase the surface area
for uptake of nectar and pollen.
occur only in Australia, whereas the cuscuses
are widespread throughout Australia, New
Guinea, and surrounding islands. The bear
cuscus (Ailurops ursinus) is restricted to
Sulawesi and nearby islands. All phalangerids
occur in scrub or heavily forested areas.
- They are medium-sized, with large eyes, short
snout, and soft, dense pelage (Figure 10.37).
Adults range from 0.5 to 1.2 m total length and
have a body mass of 1.1 to 4.5 kg
- g. All are nocturnal, have long, prehensile tails,
and are excellent climbers (Figure 10.38). Brush-
tailed possums feed on leaves (they are
folivorous), as well as flowers and nectar;
Phalanger and Wyulda are omnivorous.

- All burramyids enter torpor, but B. parvus is

noteworthy because it enters prolonged
periods of hibernation. Species of Cercartetus
store fat at the base of the tail and may enter
short bouts of hibernation. Both these
adaptations probably contribute to the
relatively long life spans of these small
marsupials.

- Based on DNA sequence data from five nuclear

genes, Meredith and colleagues (2009)
suggested that the two genera of burramyids
diverged from each other during the Ecene,
somewhat older than the oldest (Oligocene)
fossil evidence

- The marsupium opens anteriorly; litter size is 1
or 2. The gestation period is about 17 days, and
young remain in the pouch for 4 to 7 months.
Neonatal brushtail possums (T. vulpecula) enter
the pouch about 2 minutes after birth and
attach to a teat 10–15 minutes later
- . Brushtail possums were introduced into New
Zealand beginning in the 1800s to establish a
fur trade, but have become an invasive species,
causing serious damage to native forests and
orchards and serving as primary hosts for
bovine tuberculosis
- . Possum control efforts are now a major
conservation activity in New Zealand
- The telefomin cuscus (Phalanger matanim),
talaud bear cuscus (Ailurops melanotis), blue-
eyed spotted cuscus (W. wilsoni), and black-
spotted cuscus (S. rufoniger) are critically
endangered; the gebe cuscus (Phalanger
alexandrae) and woodlark cuscus (P. lullulae)
are endangered. The most common threats to
phalangerid populations are hunting and
habitat loss to agriculture.
FOSSIL HISTORY
- Fossil remains date from the late Oligocene.
Based on nuclear DNA analyses, Meredith and
coworkers (2009) date the origin of
phalangerids to the Eocene, but with
diversification of modern lineages delayed until
the Miocene.
Order Petauroidea
Family Acrobatidae
- This family includes only the feathertail glider
(Acrobates pygmaeus), found in wooded
habitats of eastern Australia, and the feather-
tailed possum (Distoechurus pennatus), which
occurs in disturbed forests, gardens, and
rainforests of New Guinea.
- . They are named for the long, stiff, featherlike
hairs on the side of the tail. The feathertail
glider (Figure  10.39) is nocturnal and highly
arboreal; at 10–14 g body mass, it is probably
the world’s smallest gliding mammal (Harris
2015)
diapause. Neither species is threatened or
endangered. Acrobatids have no pre-
Quaternary fossil record, but Meredith and
colleagues (2009) estimated that the two
genera diverged in the late Oligocene.
Family Pseudocheiridae

- The 6 genera and 20 species of ringtail possums

(Figure 10.40) in this family are closely related
to the Petauridae.

-A furred patagium (gliding membrane) extends

between the elbows and knees. The weakly
prehensile tail aids both in climbing and as a
rudder for gliding.

- The feather-tailed possum, however, is

terrestrial and lacks a gliding membrane. Both
species are primarily nectivorous and have long,
brush-tipped tongues, similar to burramyids and
tarsipedids, for taking nectar and pollen
- Pseudocheirids occur in Australia, New Guinea,
- Papillae on the tongue of Acrobates are longer
and a few surrounding islands. Most are slow
and finer than those of Distoechurus. There is a
moving and inhabit forested areas; the rock
general reduction in the size and number of
ringtail possum (Petropseudes dahli) occurs on
teeth.
rocky slopes and outcrops. These arboreal,
- Papillae on the tongue of Acrobates are longer nocturnal species feed primarily on leaves, and
and finer than those of Distoechurus. many of their morphological features reflect
this. For example, pseudocheirids have
-There is a general reduction in the size and
selenodont molars (cusps form crescent-shaped
number of teeth. Interestingly, although the
ridges for shearing tough plant tissue), a long
species are nectivorous, their molars are
alimentary tract, and a very large cecum.
bunodont for secondary feeding on insects.
- Greater gliders (Petauroides volans) selectively
- Acrobates pygmaeus, which may nest in groups
feed on Eucalyptus species that maximize their
of up to 20 individuals, has several litters per
breeding season and exhibits embryonic
 gain of nutritional nitrogen and minimize intake total of 40 teeth; the diprotodont lower incisors
of toxic defense compounds (Jensen et al. 2015) are long and sharp, and the molars are
bunodont.
- The arboreal habits of pseudocheirids are aided
by schizodactylous digits on the forefeet. The
long, furred, prehensile tail is usually the same
length as the head and body. A gliding
membrane extends from the elbow to the ankle
in Petauroides, not from the wrist as in
Petaurus. The marsupium opens anteriorly and
encloses either 2 or 4 teats.

- The western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus

occidentalis), occurring in a small area of coastal
southwestern Australia, is critically endangered
due to drying climate, urban development,
altered fire regimes, and predation by feral
foxes and cats. Similar factors are driving the
decline of several other species. Pseudocheirid
fossils appear in the late Oligocene, just prior to
the early Miocene diversification of living forms
proposed by Meredith and coworkers (2010)

Family Petauridae

- This family includes 4 species of trioks and the

striped possum (Dactylopsila), Leadbeater’s
possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri), and 6
species of wrist-winged gliders.
- The long-fingered triok is sometimes placed in its
own genus as Dactylonax palpator. These
arboreal gliders are named for the patagium
that extends from the wrist to the ankle.
- Members of Petaurus are highly convergent on
North American gliding squirrels (Glaucomys).
All petaurids are medium-sized (0.1–2.0 kg),
with some
- type of dark dorsal stripe, long, well-furred,
prehensile tails, and a well-developed
marsupium that opens anteriorly (Figure 10.41).
In some species, the pouch is partitioned into
left and right compartments by a septum.
Females usually give birth to a single young that
remains in the pouch for 4 months. There are a
- Petaurids occur in forested areas of Australia,
New Guinea, and surrounding islands. They are
nocturnal and herbivorous or insectivorous.
- Arboreal locomotion is aided by the prehensile
tail and opposable hallux. T
EXTINCT?
- The northern glider (Petaurus abidi) is restricted
to a small area of northwestern Papua New
Guinea and is critically endangered due to
deforestation and hunting.
- The critically endangered Leadbeater’s possum
was previously believed to be extinct, but
populations were rediscovered in 1961 in
Victoria, Australia. The mahogany glider (P.
gracilis) is endangered because of habitat loss
and fragmentation (Jackson et al. 2011).
- The poorly known Tate’s triok (Dactylopsila modified gut with a high passage rate and a
tatei), restricted to Fergusson Island off Papua high metabolic rate for a marsupial
New Guinea, is also endangered. Petaurid
- The honey possum is crepuscular, arboreal, and
fossils are known from the Oligocene; Meredith
occurs in shrubs and woodlands of
and colleagues (2010) estimated basal
southwestern Western Australia.
divergences among living forms in the early
Miocene - The long tail is prehensile, and the hallux is
opposable. Claws occur on only the 2
Family Tarsipedidae
syndactylous digits of each hind foot; pads on
- The unusual honey possum, or noolbenger the other digits are used to grip branches
(Tarsipes rostratus), is the sole member of this
- The marsupium is well developed. Honey
family. Average body mass of females is 12 g
possums exhibit embryonic diapause, and
and males, about 9 g
pouch young can occur throughout the year
- The honey possum is the only non-volant
- They are polyestrus; Oates and coworkers (2007)
mammal that feeds exclusively on nectar and
estimated gestation to be 23 days. Honey
pollen. Many of the adaptations of this tiny
possums give birth to the smallest mammalian
species are for its nectivorous diet. It has a long,
young; neonates weigh no more than 5 mg. In
pointed rostrum and a tubular mouth with an
contrast, their sperm is about 0.3 mm long, the
extensible, brush-tipped tongue (Figure 10.42).
largest known among mammals

- No pre-Quaternary fossils of tarsipedids have

been discovered, though Meredith et al. (2009)
estimate that the lineage diverged from
petaurids and pseudocheirids in the Eocene.

- The 22 small, peg-like teeth are fewer in number

than in any other marsupial. It also has a
LAST Order Macropodiformes Populations appear to be stable with no
significant threats.
- IN ADDITION TO three extant families,
Macropodiformes includes the extinct clade Family Protoroidae
Balbaridae, five genera of OligoMiocene
- There are 4 genera and 12 extant species of
kangaroos with well-developed canines (Butler
potoroids, including potoroos (Potorous) and
et al. 2018).
bettongs (Bettongia and Aepyprymnus).
- Some extinct macropodiforms, such as the
- Potoroids are small, secretive, densely furred
Oligo-Miocene hypsiprymnodontid Ekaltadeta,
animals (Figure 10.44).
were carnivores

Family Hypsipyrmnodontidae

- This monotypic family includes only the musky

ratkangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus),
which occurs in tropical forests of northeastern
Queensland, Australia (Figure 10.43)

- estimated that Hypsiprymnodon diverged from

macropodids in the Oligocene; the earliest
fossils are from the Miocene.
- The largest is the rufous bettong (A. rufescens)
- Musky rat-kangaroos have a mean body weight
with mean body weight of about 3 kg. As in
of about 530 g. Unlike macropodids, they do
macropodids, hind limbs are larger than
not hop bipedally but bound using all 4 legs.
forelimbs, and the hind feet are large.
- Lloyd and coworkers (2008) described unique
- The tail is weakly prehensile (bettongs carry
aspects of spermatogenesis in the musky
nesting material with their tail); the upper
ratkangaroo, including an acrosomal granule
canines are well developed, and there is a large,
different from other marsupials.
carnassial premolar.
- They are diurnal and generally terrestrial,
- are well developed, and there is a large,
foraging for fruits, seeds, and insects among
carnassial premolar. The sacculated stomach
leaf litter and downed logs on the forest floor.
 (several chambers) is not as well defined as in
macropodids. Potoroids are opportunistic
omnivores or herbivores. Most include
underground fungi as a large part of their diet.
- e broad-faced potoroo (P. platyops)—are
-they are generally solitary and nocturnal
- In the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica),
postpartum estrus occurs, followed by
embryonic diapause. Pouch young permanently
Family Macropodidae
emerge at about 3.5 months of age and are
weaned at 166–185 days old (Johnson and
Delean 2001). Several extinct potoroid genera
are recognized from Oligocene-Quaternary
fossils, but Meredith and colleagues (2009) date
the diversification of living forms to the mid-
Miocene
CONSERVATION STATUS:
- The conservation status of several species of
potoroids is of serious concern, in part because
of introduced house cats and red foxes (Vulpes
vulpes), as well as loss of habitat.
EXTINCT?
- Gilbert’s potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) may be the
most critically endangered marsupial in
Australia. There is a single population of 49
individuals in Two Peoples Bay National Park in
southwestern Western Australia. This
population was discovered in 1994 after the
species was presumed to be extinct for
120 years. Gilbert’s potoroo feeds
predominantly (>90%) on fungi
- The woylie, or brush-tailed bettong (B.
penicillata), is also considered critically
endangered by the IUCN, despite the initial
success of conservation efforts in the 1990s.
Marlow and coworkers (2015) showed that the
decline of woylie populations at reserves in
Western Australia after 2000 was driven by feral
cat predation, even after successful control of
feral foxes.
- wo species—the desert rat-kangaroo
(Caloprymnus campestris) and the broad-faced
potoroo (P. platyops)—are recently extinct.
recently extinct. The Nullarbor dwarf bettong
(B. pusilla) probably went extinct in the 1500s
- This is the largest marsupial family, with 13
genera and 67  extant species.
- Body mass ranges from the 1-kg
harewallabies (Lagorchestes) to 80-kg red
kangaroos (Macropus rufus).
- Living macropodids are herbivores (but some
extinct forms were carnivores) and occupy
practically all terrestrial
- habitats from deserts to rainforests
throughout Australasia. The tree kangaroos
(Dendrolagus) are semiarboreal.
- Macropodid ecology and morphology
parallels that of eutherian artiodactyls (deer,
sheep, goats). Macropodids have a large,
sacculate stomach in which
microorganismaided digestion occurs. As in
some artiodactyls, food is regurgitated for
additional chewing and THEN reswallowed
- Macropodids are diprotodont, but, with the
exception of the banded hare-wallaby
(Lagostrophus fasciatus), the upper and lower
incisors do not occlude. Canines are small or
absent, and there is a diastema (gap anterior to
the premolars) (Figure  10.45)
 phylogenetic analysis to argue that most of this
diversification (represented by the Macropodini
genera—Lagorchestes, Macropus, Onychogalea,
Setonix, and Wallabia) took place rapidly in
Pliocene, coincident with the spread of
grasslands in Australia.

- Strong, well-developed hind limbs

- The molars are hypsodont (highcrowned),
and as in elephants and manatees, mesial drift
occurs (forward movement of the cheekteeth in
the jaw, as worn anterior teeth drop out).
(Figure 10.46) and large hind feet characterize
macropodids (“big-footed”). Most species have
a long, broad tail that acts as a balance during
rapid (up to 50 km/h), bipedal hopping, and for
support and propulsion during slower
“pentapedal” locomotion (O’Connor et al.
2014).

- Among marsupials, this serial replacement of

cheekteeth occurs only in macropodids and is
most pronounced in Macropus. Only the pygmy
rock wallaby (Petrogale concinna) has
supernumerary molars

DIET:

- Arman and Prideaux (2015) classified

kangaroo diets into four types
(fungivore/frugivore, browser, grazer, and
mixed feeder). They also showed that most
species characterized as browsers based on
dentition are actually mixed feeders, and that
the proportion of dietary grass increases with
body size (as in bovids).

- Mitchell and colleagues (2018) showed that

facial length varies among kangaroo species as a
function of diet and dental mechanics, rather
than simple body size allometry. Species that
chew tough plant tissue have shorter faces;
those that chew softer foods or use neck
muscles to crop forage have longer faces. - The tail serves as part of a “tripod” while the
animal is sitting or foraging (Figure 10.47). The
- Dietary adaptation has long been linked to
enlarged hindquarters give macropodids a low
the diversification of kangaroos. Couzens and
center of gravity in the pelvic area, which helps
Prideaux (2018) used crown height and
individuals maintain balance while hoppinG
microwear patterns in conjunction with
 - tree kangaroo (D. goodfellowi); Huon tree
kangaroo (D. matschiei); ifola (D. notatus);
narbalek (Petrogale concinna); and proserpine
rock wallaby (P. persephone). The black
dorcopsis (Dorcopsis atrata), golden-mantled
tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus),
Wondiwoi tree kangaroo (D. mayri), and Scott’s
tree kangaroo (D. scottae) are critically
endangered.

- . Species that have gone extinct within the

last 30 to 100 years include the toolache
wallaby (Macropus greyi), central hare-wallaby
(Lagorchestes asomatus), eastern hare-wallaby
(L. leporides), and the crescent nailtail wallaby
- The marsupium is large and opens anteriorly. (Onychogalea lunata).
Mammary glands are complex, and the
- The extinction of giant kangaroos, including
physiology of lactation is sophisticated, with
Procoptodon goliah (the largest kangaroo that
pronounced differences in milk composition
ever lived, with an estimated body weight of
over time. Thus, a mother nursing both a
232 kg; Helgen et al. 2006), occurred about
developing pouch young and a young that has
45,000 years ago, possibly due to a combination
left the pouch but returns to nurse (a joey on
of human hunting (Prideaux et al. 2009) and
foot) produces milk of different nutrient
environmental change
composition from different teats.
INSERT TIKTOK VID ABOUT NIKE AND
- Gestation in macropodids is long compared
KANGAROO
with that of other marsupials—close to the
length of the estrous cycle. One young is -
produced at a time, and embryonic diapause
(see Chapter 9) occurs in all species except the -
western gray kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)

- Gelin and coworkers (2015) describe how this

complicated reproductive strategy allows
flexible responsiveness to resource availability
in eastern gray kangaroos (Macropus giganteus

- European settlement has had little adverse

effect on some of the larger species; in fact,
livestock grazing has increased their numbers
and distribution. Conversely, some large and
many smaller macropodids are considered
endangered: Calaby’s pademelon (Thylogale
calabyi); mountain pademelon (T. lanata);
dingiso (Dendrolagus mbaiso); Goodfellow’s