Marsupials
(Subclass Marsupialia)

What features distinguish a marsupial from other mammals???

There are three types of mammals: placentals or eutherians, monotremes and marsupials. Eutherian mammals include humans and most other mammal species, such as cats, dogs, elephants, dolphins, deer, etc. Eutherians give birth to a fully developed young. The fetus completes its development inside the mother's uterus. Monotremes are egg-laying mammals, including just two species, the platypus and the echidna. By contrast, marsupials give birth to a very partially developed embryo, which completes its development outside of the mother's body, but inside her pouch. When the baby kangaroo (or “joey”, as it is called) is born, it resembles a tiny, pink lima bean! This tiny, newborn creature must climb from the cloaca up the furry exterior of the mother kangaroo, and into the mother's pouch, where it attaches to a nipple. The joey then leisurely drinks milk for many months, as it physically develops into a recognizable kangaroo. When it is ready to leave the pouch for the first time, about seven to nine months after birth, the young kangaroo will demonstrate the third feature that is unique mainly to marsupials (with the exception of some small desert rodents and frogs). Hopping!!! Because of their anatomy with the short forelegs and very long hindlegs, hopping is the most energy efficient mode of transportation for marsupials. So there we have the features that distinguish marsupials: their reproductive biology, the pouch that carries the joey, and hopping.

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