Monotremes and Marsupials

Terms	Definitions
Order Monotremata -	echidnas and platypus restricted to Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea
Montremes	from the Greek monos(single) + trema(hole)- referring to the cloaca . these egg laying mammals are usually put in a single order- Monotremata. . though a recent classification proposes to divide them into the orders Patypoda (platypus along with its fossil relatives and Tachyglossa (echidnas, or spiny anteaters)
Primitive Characters Monotremes	• Primitive characters - "therapsid" shoulder girdle - sprawled posture - cervical ribs - epipubic bones (project forward from pelvis) - no corpus collosum - no auditory bulla and uncoiled cochlea (only mammals to have this)
Derived characters Monotremes	- electroreception - rhinarium - highly modified limbs - edentate (no teeth) as adults (platypus young have 3 teeth in each quadrant) - spurs
Monotreme Ovaries and Egg	• ovaries larger (relative to body size) than other mammals • oviducts open into common . young have "egg tooth" like birds to help break out of egg • milk secreted by glands in skin, licked from tufts of fur at concentrations of glands . Platypus are fertilized in the fallopian tubes then they go to the uterus for a while . Egg is more leathery shell, not calcified
Monotreme Testes and Sperm	• testes abdominal, penis in sac in floor of cloaca (not used for urine) • sperm are filiforn (thread-like) and reptilian in structure. . male testes are abdominal, they don't drop due to body temp, they don't have to worry about protecting the sperm.
Monotreme Egg Production #	• platypus: 1-2 eggs • echidna: 1 egg
Typical Platypus reproduction	Egg is fertilized in fallopian tubes before entry to uterus . Uterine wall secretes nutritious secretions which are absorbed by fertilized egg, Egg grows in size (about 3x) . Egg at fertilization = 4 mm, when laid = 12 mm . Egg retained in uterus about 28 days while development proceeds. THEN leathery shell added, egg laid, 10 more days of external incubation. (Eggs sticky, female cradles between stomach and tail.) Lactation about 3-4 months.
Echidna Reproduction	Only 1 egg, incubates in a pouch where hatching occurs. Young suckle in pouch for about 55 days, when they start to get too prickly Lactation for about 4 months more.
Monotremes eAR	- inner ear bones are fully incorporated into the skull, rather than lying in the jaw as in cynodonts and other premammalian synapsids. The external opening of the ear still lies at the base of the jaw.
Monotreme Shoulder	- monotremes have extra bones in the shoulder girdle, including an interclavicle and coracoid, which are not found in other mammals.
Monotreme Gait	monotremes retain a reptile-like gait, with legs that are on the sides of rather than underneath the body. - monotreme hind leg bears a spur in the ankle region; the spur is non-functional in echidnas, but contains a powerful venom in the male platypus . All four feet are web, hind leg is more useful for orientation
Platypus	Order: Monotremata Family: Ornithorhyncidae .
Platypus tail	-the platypus is an excellent swimmer and spends much of its time in the water foraging for food . the tail is used for energy (storage of fat reserves) . - uniquely among mammals it propels itself when swimming by an alternate rowing motion of the front two feet; although all four feet of the Platypus are webbed - the hind feet (which are held against the body) don't assist in propulsion, but are used for steering in combination with the tail.
Platypus eating	-the platypus is a carnivore feeding on annelid worms, insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, and crayfish that . it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches while swimming. - it utilizes cheek-pouches to carry prey to the surface, where they are eaten. - it needs to eat about 20% of its own weight each day and they spend an average of 12 hours each day looking for food. . Keratinized teeth for grounding
Electrorecption	• monotremes are only mammals known to have a sense of electroreception: • platypus locate prey by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions • closes its eyes, ears and nose each time it dives and digs in the bottom of streams with its bill.
Echidna	Order: Monotremata Family: Tachyglossidae
Echidna Living Arrangement	Echidnas live alone and, apart from the burrow created for rearing young they have no fixed shelter or nest site. They do not have a home territory, but range over a wide area.
Echidna daily activity	Echidnas are typically active in the daytime; however, they can't deal with heat - they have no sweat glands and do not pant. Therefore, in warm weather they change their pattern of activity, becoming nocturnal. They can tolerate cold temperatures, and hibernate during the winter in very cold regions.
Echidna Snout	They have snouts which have the functions of both mouth and nose. Their snouts are elongated and slender. Echidnas have a tiny mouth and a toothless jaw. They using their long, sticky tongue, which protrudes from their snout, to collect their prey . Texture of Platypus snout is rubbery
How do Echidnas locate food?	Echidnas locate food by smell, using sensors in the tip of their snout. They are powerful diggers, using their clawed front paws to dig out prey and create burrows for shelter. . They may rapidly dig themselves into the ground if they cannot find cover when in danger.
Common places to find Echidnas	They are common in forested areas where there are abundant termite-filled fallen logs . In agricultural areas, they are most likely to be found in uncleared scrub; they may be found in grassland, arid areas, and in the outer suburbs of the capital cities.
Marsupial North America	Order Didelphimorphia - opossums Order Paucituberculata - rat, oppossums Order Microbiotheria - Monito del Monte
Marsupials Australia	Order Dasyuromorphia - numbat, Tasmanian devil, marsupial mice Order Peramelemorphia - bandicoots, bilbies Order Notoryctemorphia - marsupial "mole" Order Diprotodontia - koala, wombat, kangaroos,possums
Marsupial Females are Charaterized by?	Marsupials are often characterized by the female's abdominal pouch, or marsupium. . . This is a poor diagnostic feature as not all marsupials have one and the echidna (a monotreme) has a pouch. Only about 50% of species have a permanent pouch.
Best way to characterize marsupials	They are best categorized by their reproductive mode, specifically the small amount of energy invested before birth. Marsupial litters weigh less than 1% of maternal mass at birth compared to up to 50% in some rodents. (about 5mg)
Baby Investment for Marsupials	Marsupials invest more during lactation and so in the end they are somewhat comparable in total investment. . They have exchanged the umbilical cord for the nipple.
Marsupial Reproduction	• eggs slightly larger than in placentals (0.12-0.28 mm vs 0.07-0.15 mm) • no invasive placenta • many have pouch, some only have folds of skin, and • uteri separate, but females also have paired vaginae; new, median canal forms at parturition • young never larger than about 1 g, no matter size of a few don't have anything • in males, penis is bifid (forked) like female vaginae • scrotum lies in front of mother • gestation always short as or shorter than length of estrus cycle penis, opposite pattern in most placentals .....capabilities of having multiple pregnancies Noninvasive placenta
Metabolic Rate Marsupial	Marsupials have lower metabolic rates than their placental counterparts - 70% less.
Marsupial brain size	They have smaller brains with no corpus collosum.
Marsupial Post Natal	They have slower post-natal growth (except for bandicoots).
Dentition in Marsupial	Polyprotodont Diporotodont
Polyprotodont	longer mandible with small unspecialized lower incisors
Diprotodont	a shortened mandible with the first pair of lower incisors enlarged to meet upper incisors - usually only one pair
Hind Foot Digits	Didactylous, Syndactylous
Didactylous	Unfused
Syndactyous	2nd and 3rd toes fused and in a common skin sheath.
Didactylous Feet
Syndactylous Feet
Didactylous Digit Polyprotodont	Order Didelphimorphia - New World opossums Order Microbiotheria - Monito del Monte Order Dasyuromorphia - numbat, Tasmanian devil, marsupial mice
Didactylous Digit Diprotodont	Order Paucituberculata - rat oppossums
Syndactylous Digit Polyprotodont	Order Peramelemorphia - bandicoots, bilbies Order Notoryctemorphia - marsupial "mole"
Syndactylous Digit Diprotodont	Order Diprotodontia - koala, wombat, kangaroos, possums, etc
American Opossum	Order: Didelphimorphia Family: Didelphidae
Didelphimorph size	Didelphimorphs are small to medium-sized, with the largest about the size of a large house cat, and the smallest the size of a mouse. Only 1 species is north of Mexico The marsupium ranges from absent to well developed.
Opossum Teeth	Opossums have more teeth (50) than any other land mammal, except the numbat. The incisors are very small, the canines large, and the molars are tricuspid. . Most members of this taxon have long snouts, a narrow braincase, and a prominent sagittal crest. . sagital crest- crest on top of skull enhacing muscle attachment for jaw closer control
Didelphimorphs Stance	Didelphimorphs have a plantigrade stance (flat foot) . the hind feet have an opposable digit with no claw. . Opossums have prehensile tails
Opossum Stomach	The stomach is simple, with a small cecum.
Didelphimorphs Diet	Didelphimorphs are opportunistic omnivores with a very broad diet. . Their diet mainly consists of carrion, but also eat insects, frogs, snakes, small mammals, earthworms, and birds , Some of their favorite foods are fruits.
Didelphimorph Habitat	- they occur in all habitats from deserts to tropical forests and at elevations up to 3,400 m - some are terrestrial burrowers, others are semi-arboreal - generally solitary
Water Opossum	Chironectes minimus aka Yapok . .
the only true aquatic marsupia	The Water Opossum aka Yapok
Female Pouch of water opossum	Becomes water tight during dives
Shrew Opossum or Caenolestid	Order: Paucituberculata (South America) ----order diverged from the ancestral marsupial line very early. Family: Caenolestidae . 6 species only in the andes mountains
Shrew Opossum Habitat	They live in inaccessible forest and grassland regions of the High Andes. Shrew opossums have not competed well with placental insectivores that fill the same ecological niches.
Shrew Opossum Size	Shrew, or rat, opossums are about the size of a small rat, with thin limbs, long, pointed snout and a slender, hairy tail.
Shrew Opossum Diet	They eat insects, earthworms and small vertebrates;
Shrew Opossum Senses	have small eyes and poor sight, and hunt in the early evening and at night, using their hearing and long, sensitive whiskers to locate prey.
Shrew Opossum Teeth	They have no marsupium. They are didactylous and the only non-Australian diprotodont.
Monito del Monte	Order Microbiotheria (South America) Family: Microbiotheriidae . The Monito del Monte (Spanish for "little mountain monkey"), is a small marsupial native only to Chile and Argentina.
Monito del Monte Activities	The species is nocturnal and arboreal, and lives in thickets of Chilean bamboo in the temperate rain forests of the southern Andes, aided by its well furred, partially prehensile tail.
Monito del Monte Diet	It eats primarily insects, small invertebrates, and fruit.
What helps the Monito del Monte Climb	They have very large auditory bullae and pads on their feet to help in climbing
Monito del Monte Nests	The Monito del Monte constructs spherical nests of water resistant bamboo leaves. These leaves are then lined with moss or grass, and placed in well protected areas of the tree. .The nests are sometimes covered with grey moss as a form of camouflage. These nests provide them with some protection from the cold, both when it is active and when it hibernates. . It stores fat in the base of it's tail for winter hibernation being able to double their body weight within a week.
Monito del Monte is Related to?	More closely related to Australian forms than Ameridelphia.
Numbat	Order: Dasyuromorphia (Australia) Family: Myrmecobiidae
Tasmanian Devil, Marsupial Mice	Order: Dasyuromorphia (Australia) Family: Dasyuridae
Tasmanian Wolf	Order: Dasyuromorphia Family: Thylacinidae Thylacinus cynocephalus ----- recently extinct
Family Dayuridae Size	Range in size from the smallest marsupial (Pilbara ningaui) ( 5g) to the largest marsupial carnivore (the Tasmanian devil) (8 kg).
Family Dayuridae Habitat	Throughout Australasia inhabiting all terrestrial and semiarboreal habitats from deserts to high-elevation rain forests.
Family Dayuridae Marsupium	Marsupium absent or poorly developed. In several species the males have a mass die-off after breeding.
Tasmanian Devil(Sarcophilus harrisii)	the largest surviving carnivorous marsupial in Australia (8 kg) . It has a squat and thick build, with a large head and a tail which is about half its body length . Unusual for a marsupial, its forelegs are slightly longer than its hind legs . Devils can run up to 8 Tasmanian devil mph for short distances . The fur is usually black, although irregular white patches on the chest and rump are common.
Tasmanian Devil Tail	They store body fat in the tail. An ano-genital scent gland at the base of its tail is used to mark territory and they produce an odor that rivals skunks
Tasmanian Devil Senses	They have long whiskers on the face and on top of the head to locate prey when foraging in the dark, and aid in detecting other devils . Hearing Tasmanian devil is the dominant sense, but it also has an excellent sense of smell.
Tasmanian devil teeth	They have the strongest bite of any living mammal and has one set of teeth that grows slowly throughout its life.
Tasmanian Devil Eating	They can take prey up to the size of a small kangaroo, but are generally opportunistic, and eat carrion more often than they hunt live prey They will eat anything up to the size of sheep. They eat 15% of body weight each day; however, they can eat up to 40% of their body weight in 30 minutes if the opportunity arises. They eliminate all traces of a carcass, devouring the bones and fur in addition to the meat and internal organs
What is threatening Tasmanian Devil	Now threatened by a facial tumor disease.
Tiger Quoll	Dayurus maculatas The tiger quoll, also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tailed dasyure or (erroneously) the tiger cat, is a mainland Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial and is considered an apex predator.
Fat tailed Antechinus	The fat-tailed antechinus is 10 cm long with a 8 cm tail; it weighs 20-45g . It has a carrot-shaped tail swollen with fat (incrassate) which serves as a food reserve . Its fur is grey-brown. It has litters of up to six young, born in July-September. It is an insectivorous, nocturnal species.
Antechinus Shrew	Almost all Antechinus species are semelparous. . . . Breeding occurs in winter (usually August-September) at a time when there is little food available in the environment, and In order to ensure breeding success, male antechinus shrews strip their body of vital proteins and also suppress the immune system so as to free up additional metabolic energy. . following the breeding season there is a complete die-off of physiologically exhausted males. Breeding is intensely competitive.
Antechinus Shrew Male	Males produce large amounts of testosterone and mate-guarding occurs in the form of protracted copulation (up to twelve hours in some species).
Antechinus Shrew Females	Females can store sperm, get pregnant and give birth after all males in population are dead. (males live 1 yr, females usually 2, very rarely 3)
Numbat or Banded Anteater	Order Dasyuromorphia Family: Myrmecobiidae . Unlike most other marsupials, the numbat is diurnal.
Numbat Eating	They are insectivores and exclusively eat termites (up to 20 000 /day) It 20,000 day). digs termites from loose earth with its front claws and captures them with its long sticky tongue. Has 52 teeth
Numbat Living	At night, they retreat to a nest, typically a burrow 1-2 m long terminating in a spherical chamber lined with soft plant material: grass, leaves, flowers and shredded bark. The numbat is able to block the opening of its nest, with the thick hide of its rump, to block access by a potential predator.
Numbat Marsupium	No marsupium, young hang from belly hair.
Bilbies	Order Peramelemorphia (Australia, Indonesia) Family: Thylacomyidae -bilbies (1, 2)
Bandicoot and Echymiperas	Order Peramelemorphia (Australia, Indonesia) Family: Peramelidae - bandicoots and echymiperas
Bandicoot and Echymipera Marsupium	Chorioallantoic placenta. Well developed marsupium, opening posteriorly
Bandicoot Appearance	have short limbs and tails, smallish, mouse-like ears, and a long, pointed snout.
Bandicoot Eating	They are nocturnal omnivorous with nocturnal, omnivorous, . soil-dwelling invertebrates forming the major part of their diet; they also eat seeds, fruit, and fungi. Their teeth are unspecialized.
Peramelids (Bandicoot) Females	Female peramelids have a pouch that opens to the rear, and contains eight teats . The female has 8 teats and this allows the female to produce more than one litter ata a time, and gives peramelids an unusually high reproductive rate compared with other marsupials
Peramelids (Bandicoot) Gestation	The gestation period of peramelids is the shortest among mammals, at just 12.5 days, the young (usually 4) are weaned at around two months of age, and reach sexual maturity at just three months.
Comparing Bilbies to Bandicoots	Bilbies have longer tails, bigger ears, and softer fur . bilbies are excellent burrowers and build extensive tunnel systems with their strong forelimbs and well-developed claws. A bilby typically makes a number of burrows within its home range, up to about a dozen; and moves between them, using them for shelter both from predators and the heat of the day.
Bilbies and Bandicoot commonalities	Muzzle and very long ears. The size of their ears allows them to have better hearing
Bilbies Eating	They are nocturnal omnivores that do not need to drink water, as they get all the moisture they need from their food, which includes insects and their larvae, seeds, spiders, bulbs, fruit, fungi, and very small animals. . Most food is found by digging or scratching in the soil, and using their very long tongues.
Female Bilbie	The female bilby's pouch faces backwards, which prevents her pouch from getting filled with dirt while she is digging
Marsupial Mole	Order Notoryctemorphia (Australia) Family: Notoryctidae Marsupial moles provide a remarkable example of convergent evolution.
Marssupial Mole Living	Marsupial moles are completely fossorial, coming to the surface only occasionally, probably mostly after rains. Syndactylous with huge digging claws, no external eyes or ears. They do not dig permanent burrows, they "swim" through the sand, filling the tunnel in behind them as they move.
Marssupial Mole Feeding	They are insectivorous, feeding primarily on beetle larve and caterpillars.
Marssupial Mole Teeth	Their teeth have a somewhat simplified structure, but their dental formula is similar to that of other marsupials
Digits in arboreal species	Very diverse group but all species are diprotodont and syndactylous . In many arboreal species, including the koala, the ringtail possums, and cuscuses, the first two digits of the forefeet oppose the last three and so they are schizodactylous. On the hind foot the big toe is opposable. They lack lower canines.
Schizodactylous	the first two digits of the forefeet oppose the last three
Koala	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Vombatiformes Family: Phascolarctidae
Koala Facts	• occupies Eucalyptus woodlands. closely related to wombats - have vestigial tail even though arboreal . • cheek teeth are closed-rooted - very unusual for an herbivore. • extremely long cecum • along with bandicoots and bilbies, have Koala chorioallantoic placentae without villi • sexually dimorphic - males twice as big as females . • specialized herbivore • 8-12 kilograms • sedentary, slow growing • save energy by staying in trees • 5-7 months pouch life • posterior opening marsupium
Wombat	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Vombatiformes Family: Vombatidae
Wombat Teeth	• similar to rodents in dental morphology, and often considered convergent with marmots (actually more like a terrestrial beaver). • single pair of upper and lower incisors and a diastema • rodent-like herbivores with large masseters continuously growing teeth (unique in marsupials)
Wombat Marsupium	rear-facing marsupium
Potoroos and Bettongs	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Macropodiformes Family: Potoroidae
Potoroids	similar to small wallabies with elongated hind feet and they move by hopping. they have carnassial premolars with a sacculated stomach
Potoroids Eating	they eat a wide variety of vegetable foods, most have a particular taste for the fruiting bodies of fungi, and often depend on fungi to see them through periods when there is little else to eat in the dry Australian bush
Potoroids Habitat	in the dry Australian bush. This limits its habitat range as it needs to live in a moist environment, with dense cover.
Family: Macropodidae	• largest family with the kangaroos, wallaroos, quokkas, and wallabies • browsers and grazers, some are arboreal. Upper and lower incisors do not occlude • they chew their cud. • molars are hypsodont and, like elephants and manatees, the molars drift forward (mesial drift) and fall out the front as they wear out
Tree and Terrestrial Kangaroo Stomach	In both tree kangaroos and terrestrial kangaroos, the stomach is large, containing bacteria capable of breaking down tough fibrous food.
Terrestrial Kangaroo eat	Terrestrial kangaroos eat grass primarily, while leaves and fruit are the main foods of tree kangaroos. Foregut Fermenter
Tree Kangaroo eat	Tree kangaroos have a broader diet that may include bark, sap, and flowers. When they can get them, they eat eggs, birds, and other small animals, too
Terrestrial Kangaroo and Water	Most terrestrial kangaroos drink very little water. They can get most of the water they need by eating green plants. . Red kangaroos can go without water for two or three months (red kangaroo habitat is generally quite xeric). . The tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) is able to drink saltwater.
Musky Rat Kangaroo	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Macropodiformes Family: Hypsiprymnodontidae . It is the smallest macropod that is quadrupedal and is diurnal. It has a hairless tail, . eats fallen fruit, fungi, and large seeds, as well as small invertebrates.
Musky Rat Kangaroo Movement	It moves by extending its forelegs and then bringing both of its hind legs forward, and uses an opposable digit on the hindfoot to climb trees.
Musky Rat Kangaroo Habitat	This is a rat-sized marsupial species found in the rainforests of New Guinea and northeast Australia
Cuscus	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Phalangeriformes Family: Phalangeridae
Cuscus Facts	• phalangers, cuscus, brush-tailed possum, scaly-tailed possum. • arboreal with a prehensile tail and wooly fur, anterior opening marsupium. • large hands and feet with digits 1 and 2 opposable to 3, 4 and 5 on hand • low BMR omnivores
Cuscus eats	The cuscus eats mostly fruit, but will also eat leaves and sometimes insects and small vertebrates .
Feathertail Glider	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Phalangeriformes Family: Acrobatidae
Feathertail Glider facts	The world's smallest gliding mammal - named for its long feather-shaped tail. They are the size of a small mouse but can glide up to 25 m The tail is thin, moderately prehensile, and almost hairless except for two rows of long, stiff hairs on either side. The tail is used to grip small branches, and to control gliding flight: steering and thenbraking. Patagium between elbows andknees.
Feathertail Glider eats	They eat nectar, pollen and arthropods (have bunodont dentition).
Only marsupials known to hibernate live in	Australia
Pygmy Possum	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Phalangeriformes Family: Burramyidae
Pygmy Possum Facts	Pygmy possums range in length from about 5 to 12 cm, and weigh between 10 to 50 g. . . They are nocturnal and omnivorous, living on a diet of invertebrates, fruit, seed, nectar and pollen. . . They are excellent climbers, due in part to their possession of a prehensile tail. Although they cannot glide like some other species of possum, some species are able to leap a long distance. All use torpor, but one species is the only known marsupial hibernator (store fat in tail).
Ringtailed Possums	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Phalangeriformes Family: Pseudocheiridae
Greater Glider	Ring tailed possum . Physically they appear very similar to the pygmy possum except fort their greater size. . Even so, they are relatively small animals, with the largest being cat-sized, and they weigh between 200 grams and 2 kilograms. . They have grasping hands and feet with opposable first toes on their hindfeet, and, in all species except the Greater glider, they have a prehensile tail. They are nocturnal, with large eyes. Have a gliding membrane from elbow to ankle.
Coprophagus Marsupial	Ring tailed possum All species feed almost entirely on leaves. very large cecum to enable them to digest this tough and fibrous food. . . They have selenodont teeth and they lack lower canines.
Striped/ Gliding Possum	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Phalangeriformes Family: Petauridae • one sub group eats sap and nectar but another group eats insects • relatively small (100-700g), with a prehensile tail and a patagium going from wrist to ankle • scent important for group cohesion. • sharp claws • in insect feeders - one digit is extremely long • anterior facing marsupium divided into two compartments
Honey Possum	Order Diprotodontia Suborder: Phalangeriformes Family: Tarsipedidae . One of the very few entirely nectarivorous mammals; . it has a long, pointed snout and a long, protrusible tongue with a brush tip that gathers pollen and nectar, like a honeyeater or a hummingbird. Mainly nocturnal but will come out to feed during daylight in cooler weather. Generally, though, it spends the days asleep in a shelter of convenience: a rock cranny, a tree cavity, the hollow inside of a grass tree, or an abandoned bird nest. When food is scarce or in cold weather, it becomes torpid to conserve energy. . Smallest mammalian newborn - 5 mg
Honey Possum Teeth	The honey possum has 22 small degenerate teeth, except for the procumbent lower incisors.
Honey Possum Tongue	Long, protrusible tongue with a brush tip that gathers pollen and nectar.