Marsupials Flashcards
What attributes define a marsupial?
- reproduction (female)
- two uteri with seperter cervix
- ureter inside and above genital ducts not outside and below
- two vaginae
Male - order of reproduction
- scrotum (and testes) above the penis not below
- penuis
- neonates are small and born at early stage of development (Still embryonic) - gestation is short, most development occurs in the pouch - energy goings to the lactation.
- Not all marsupial have a pouch
What is a polyprotodonts?
have at least 3 orders
and have at least 4 incisos in the lower jaw (needle like incisors in upper jaw and the pairs in the lower jaw)
canine teeth
premolar and molar teeth - sharply serrated bearing distinctive cusps
What 3 families are in the order dasyuromorphia?
Order Dasyuromorphia
- Myrmecobiidae Family
* Numbat - Dasyuridae Family (13
genera, 58 species)
* Quolls, devils,
pseudoantechinus,
antechinuses, dunnarts,
planigales, ningauis,
dibblers, kaluta,
phascogales, kultarr,
mulgara, kowari - Thylacinidae Family
* Thylacine
What families are in the Peramelemorphia?
- Peroryctidae family
* Spiny bandicoots (New Guinea
and adjacent island) - Peramelidae family
* Bandicoots and bilbies
What families are in the Notoryctemorphia?
Notoryctidae family
* Two species of
marsupial moles
What are characteristics of Dasyurids?
Have no pouch or minor margins
many region with temporary ridge of skin and hair
6-14 teats - holds on with teats
Litters are born into or above the pouch area
supernumerary young - give birth to more young - only some neonates survive depending the amount of teats available.
How big are Dasyurids? and how do they stay attached?
very small
teat swells to anchor neonate firmly
the young stay attach until they can thermoregulate and jaws develop for reattachment
What happens to dasyurids when they increase in size?
young put into a nest, then carried or follow the mother - weaned within a couple of months depending on species
Tasmanian devil, what family do they belong to?
dasyurids
What is the largest extant carnivorous marsupial?
Tasmanian devil (7-9kg)
What are some characteristics about tassie devils
Nocturnal
scavengers
found throughout tasmania
What disease do tassie devils suffer from?
devil facial tumour disease (DFTD)
first observed in 1996
fatal transmissible tumour - between devils and achieved by mating season and often feed at carcasses together
& squabble.
* Face biting during the mating
season.
* Total population decline ~70%
Listed as “Endangered” in May
2009
What types of quolls are found?
closest relative to tassie devil
Western quoll
eastern quoll (tasmania)
spotted-tail quoll (QLD, NWS and TAS)
northern quoll
What terrain, and breeding cycle, and lifespan do northern quolls have?
- Survives in rock
outcrops, some islands - Disappeared from
grassland & savanna - UNIQUE: Breeds once a year,
- lifespan 1-3 years
What is the reasoning for the decrease in population of northern quolls?
CANE TOADS
How many species are there of Phascogales, and what habitat do they live in?
~ 38–310 g
Habitat: Dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands in
tropical, subtropical and
temperate regions
* Arboreal - extremely agile.
* Extremely agile, capable of
acrobatic leaps of ~ 2 m
between tree limbs
* In semi-urban areas,
phascogales are known
raiders of chicken coops
and aviaries
* Semelparous - breed once in lifetime and die.
how have antechinus, phascogale adapted to arboreality?
They have a ball and socket ankle joint that can swirl feet backwards and splayed back legs
How many species are around of antechinus?
How often do they breed?
15 species
~ 16–178 g
* Hunt arthropods in deep leaf litter and on bark
* Nest communally in tree hollows (or burrows- dusky / swamp)
* Breed once a year, with a two-week rut. Large litters.
* Males live 11 months - Semelparous (once in a lifetime)
Antechinuses, are so competitive that if two species occur together, they
always breed at different times of the year
What is Semelparity, and what species does this occur in?
animals that breed once in a lifetime - all antechinus and phascogale species and dasykaluta- male dies off
Premating cessation of sperm production
corticosteroid escalation - failure of regulatory feedback system
immune system collapse (not eating, finding female)
obligate synchronized death
What animals are in the in the Dasyuridae Family are known to be semelparity?
Obliagte die off
Antechineus
Dasykaluta
Phascogale
sometime make it to 2nd breeding cycle
Parantechinus
Dasyurus
What are some examples of animals are in the in the Dasyuridae Family?
- Quolls, devils,
pseudoantechinus,
antechinuses, dunnarts,
planigales, ningauis,
dibblers, kaluta,
phascogales, kultarr,
mulgara, kowari
What are some characteristics of The little red kaluta?
habitat
weight
when were they first classified?
~ 35 - 40g
Habitat: Sandy plains, clay
plains, scree slopes, and
hummock grasslands, dense
spinifex thickets - western australian
- First classified as an
antechinus in 1964 - A study published in 1982 of
penis shape by Patricia
Woolley suggested a distinct
species
species of its own! Semelparous
What is semelparous?
Reproducing or breeding only once in a lifetime
What are some
western australian
40-125g
habitiat - heath - shrubland
thought to be extinct and rediscovered in 1967 at cheynes beach
What are some characteristics of Dibbler?
Parantechinus apicalis
western australian
40-125g
habitiat - heath - shrubland
thought to be extinct and rediscovered in 1967 at cheynes beach
- Exhibit male die-off in
island populations but
not in mainland
populations
How are false antechinus different from antechinus?
~ 14–50 g
* Habitat: Rocky Deserts:
low open woodlands,
tree and shrub steppes,
rocky habitat, scree
slopes, red sand
plains(termite mounds)
and sandstone outcrops
BECAUSE Both males and females
often survive to breed
more than once and for
up to 4 years
Have fat tails - in which they can store
what are key features of false antechinus?
Have fat tails - in which they can store
What are some key characteristics about Mulgara?
~ 60–185 g
Habitat: Arid spinifex
grasslands, sand plains,
rocky desert (gibber) plains
and dune fields
Diet: Opportunistic and generalist carnivores - consume a range of
vertebrates and
invertebrates.
* Tail – fat stores during food abundance
* Basking observed – help temperature regulation
What is a key feature of mulgaras behaviour?
do not drink water.
They have a key adaptation that their kidneys excrete concentrated urine - aero environment and don’t drink water
What are some characteristic of Kowari?
70–175 g
* Habitat: Rocky desert
(gibber) plains between
braided river channels and
sand dunes where there is
less than 25% cover of
shrubs
* Opportunistic predators of
both vertebrates and
invertebrates
* Regularly eat long-haired rats
and house mice
* Populations declining
* Once it disappears from a
site, it struggles to return
What are some characteristics about Dunnarts?
Habitat
~ 8–70 g (most < 20g)
* Habitat: Predominantly
arid/semi-arid habitats
* rocky desert (gibber) plains,
tussock, spinifex and shrub- dominated plains and sand dunes
* tropical savanna, grassland,
temperate woodland and open
forest
* two species are found in or near
rainforest, closed forest
communities
* Ground dwelling
* Shortest known marsupial
gestation
frequent torpor- prey unpredictability
* Will tear the heads off mice
and other rodents if caught in
pitfall traps with them
tail fat stores and torpor-prey unpredictability
Whats Dasyuroides has the smallest gestiation period?
dunnarts of 10.7 ± 0.7 days in the Striped faced dunnart (Sminthopsis macroura) * Many have tail fat stores,
What are key characteristics about Planigale?
2.5–17.2 g
* Habitat: Rainforests,
savannas and grasslands
to weed infested urban
areas. Commonly found
on cracking clays on
floodplains, grassy areas
and interdunes and
blacksoil plains
* Ground dwelling
* Regularly enter torpor – to conserving energy
Diet: mostly invertebrate prey that may be
larger than they are.
* Upon catching an insect, planigales will
hang on and will not let go of the fleeing
prey.
* Will also occasionally eat small lizards and
mammals remorselessly attacking the
head until the animal is killed or disabled
What is the smallest marsupial?
Long-tailedplanigale
habitat is in soil creaks in seasonally flooded grasslands in NW QLD
WHat are key features of Ningaui
weight
habitat
and lifespan
~ 3.5–14.0 g
* Habitat: Desert habitat,
spinifex hummock
grasslands, low
shrublands, woodlands,
scrub, heathlands
* Ground-dwelling
* Ningaui short-lived, both
sexes usually breed in
one season, live 1 year
What are key features of Ningaui
weight
habitat
and lifespan
~ 20–30 g
* Long hind legs and tail,
galloping gait = very agile
* Habitat: Arid and semi-arid
grassland, shrubland
* Desert plains, stony and sandy
areas where small bushes and
grasses predominate, scrub
land, clay pans
What are key features of Numbat specifically dentition and special adaptations
weight
habitat
and lifespan
specialised to eat termites
- teeth and long stick tongues
ingest - dirt, creating an evolution in the digestion system - became a requirement for a proper digestion.
active morning and late afternoon - sleep during the day.
Habitat: Australian grassy
woodland- Dryandra NP
* Burrows under logs
why were Thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus become exinct?
Thylacine = Extinct
* Bounty based persecution
* Last one (female) snared in 1933 by timber cutter
Elias Churchill and sold to Hobart Zoo - Died
September 1936 of neglect
- Legally protected July 1936
- Rarely bred in captivity (but not never)
- Ferocious killer? mislable - savenager
- Still alive? no.
what animals are in the Peramelemorphia family?
Bandicoots
Dig for soil arthropods, tubers- conical holes
* Galloping gait
* Habitats: heaths, woodlands, rainforests
* Prefer habitats with dense vegetation to shelter during
the day, and open areas to forage for food at night
Sleep in camouflaged nests
What do bandicoots eat and why are they important is landscapes?
Opportunistic omnivores:
insects, insect larvae, lizards,
mice and snails, fungi, grass
seeds, berries and fruit.
* Sensitive noses to smell out
food. Use their long, curved
toes to dig out the
underground food
* Critical in dispersing fungi
spores
What are some characteristics of reproduction?
- Fast breeding, 12.5 day
gestation - Multiple litters per year
What are the 2 classifications of bandicoots?
Short nosed bandicoots
Long nosed bandicoots
Where are bilbys found and what are their diets?
Habitat: grasslands, stony
downs country, and desert
sandplains and dunefields.
* Deep burrow (up to 3m long)
* Threats- foxes, cats,
pastoralism
* Eats tubers, seeds and insects.
* Extinct lesser bilby M leucura
was more carnivorous
How are bilbies important ecologically?
burrows are ecological importance to other species - allo other species to use as shleters
What are some characteristics for the marsupial moles?
habitat
how do they hunt
Southern and northern species
No eyes or external ears
* keen sense of smell and
acute hearing tuned to low- frequency sounds
* Eat only ant pupae and
beetle larvae
What adaptations do marsupial moles have to survive?
Fused neck vertebrae provide bull dozer-like rigidity
* Bony armor protects the marsupial mole’s snout as it
plows through coarse sand
* Lobster-like claws on the forelimbs enable the animal
to swipe through even densely-packed sediment, as
hind-limbs kick sand and soil backward.
Extreme
adaptation of the
humerus to
rotation for
digging, like these
other mammals
with similar
lifestyles
Which order did Monotremes, eutherian and marsupials diverge?
Monotreme, marsupials and eutherians have a common ancestor, monotreme diverged first and then marsupials diverged second, lastly eutherian
What does the prefix Eu mean?
well or good
True
What are key characteristics of Diprotodonts?
- one pair of lower incisors
- syndactyly: second and third digits of the foot fused up to claws (only australian marsupials)
Whats the common name do the species phascolarctos? and what order do they belong to?
Koala
Diprotodonts
What are the families for possums and gliders? and what order do they belong to?
- Petauridae - yellow-bellied glider, sugar glider
- Tarsipedidae - honey possum
- Acrobatidae - feathertail gliders
- Burramyidae - pygmy possums
- phalangeridae - brushtail possum, bobuck, cuscuses
- Pseudocheiridae - ringtail possums
Diprotodonts
What are the families for kangaroos and allies?
- macropodidae - kangaroos
- potoroidae - potoroos
Diprotodonts
What are the families for koalas and wombats?
- Phascolarctidae - koalas
- vombatidae - wombats
Diprotodonts
What is the diversity of social organisation in diprotodonts?
largely feed solitarily or in unstable (fission fusion - splitting and joining) groups - kangaroo mobs, not territorial
What are examples are animals that defend space from intruders in Diprotodonts
Why would they?
yellow bellied glider
burrowing bettong
brush-tailed rock
tree Kangaroos
Resource availability - defending because there is a resource there 0 worth defending that particular thing
example a tree with fruit
What are examples of animals that are monogamous and have pair-bonding in Diprotodonts?
Long nosed potoroo
Allied rock wallaby
rock ringtail possum
5% of mammals
What Diprotodonts have pouch and birth
forward-facing, deep?
Backward-facing, deep?
forward - kangaroos and possums (macropods)
backward - koalas and wombats
After pouch life - what do Diprotodonts kangaroos, koalas and possums do?
Young follow - kangaroo
rides on back - koalas and some possums
some are let in a nest, shelter, hollow, tree or burrow-wombats, potoroids, some macropods, some possums
What diet do Folivores and grazers Diprotodonts have? and how does this impact their behaviour?
leaves and fruit - possums, cuscuses, tree kangaroos
herbs - smaller macropods
Leaves - koala, ringtail possum, great glider, swap wallaby
Grass - kangaroo and wombats
impacts their diet as some foods provide a certain amount of nutrients. low energy food source - slow release of nutrients
What diet do Nectarivores/insectivorous and root-eating herbivores (Diprotodonts) have? and how does this impact their behaviour?
fungi, roots, seeds - bettongs, potoroos
Sap + insects - gliders
Fruit and insects - musky rat kangaroo, striped possum
seeds + insects - mountain pygmy possum
Nectar + insects - pygmy possums, honey possums, gliders
What animals are in Macropodidae?
Larger kangaroos
red (rufus) , eastern grey (giganteus) and western grey kangaroo (fuliginosus)
middle size wallabies
tree kangaroos
petrogale - rock wallabies
lagostrophus and lagorchestes - hare wallabies
nailtail wallabies
what are the anomalous genera in macrodiae?
quokka and swap wallaby (east coast)
where do perogale rock wallabies occur? and what adaptions do they have
eastern australian
rock habitat
NSW and QLD
Their feet/pads are designed for the rocky habitat
how many species of tree kangaroos are there?
2 species
Lumhotz tree
Dendrolagus bennettii
D. lumholtzi
what are potoroids and hare-wallabies hard hit? and why are bettongs of conservation interest?
related to macropods
Rufous bettong- northern QLD, they need ecotone - in-between wet and dry (need land management
bettong - founds on islands
Potorous - potoroos
Musky rat kangaroo
dinural - eats fruits and seeds
declining habitats due to loss of land management, and predators such as invasive foxes
less places to hide, fires and grazing are associated to this.
What is the primary cause of decline of australians terrestrial mammals
How does hopping occur in macropodids? and what is pentapedal locomation mean?
- powerful hind limbs, long hind feet, 4th toe longest and strongest
- tail for balance
- elastic strain energy in tendons reduces expenditure at speed
- best savings for large species
visceral piston helps to ventilate each hop
Means using 5 appendages - exerting the diaphragm
KWhat are characteristics in macropodids?
more than one younge in the pouch - feeding two youngest different milk compositions at the same time.
embryonic diapause - suspend animation until there are enough nutrients
successive siblings overlappings - continuous breeding
What are constraints of a macropods diet?
Kangaroos eat grass- hard to digest
mutualistic relationship with the gut bacteria - need large enough space to do that (larger size animal - fermentation Vat.
Foregut fermenters -
What animals are associated with Phascolarctidae and vombatoidea?
Koala and wombats
what are characteristics of Phascolarctidae and what are the biggest loss?
The koala, weighs 4-15kg
limited in NSW and QLD
Habitat loss and suffer from chlamydia
one young per year, wean at 12 months
live 18 years
territorial
opposable thumb - climb effectively
quality of tree - soil changes this
Food is low nutrition and slow growings
Are koalas listed formally as a threatened species under australian law?
yes only in NSW and QLD
What diet do Koalas eat, and how do they manage eating only eucalyptus? and do hey drink water
very low energy diet with toxins in leaves
Eat eucalyptus species including swap, manna, blue, red, tallowwood, grey gum
very large caecum for digesting low nutritious leaves
THEY DRINK WATER - in very hot conditions
What are characteristics of vombatidae?
weight
diet
common bare-nosed wombat
22-39 kg
single young - weaned at 18 months
dig burrows
Why are wombat teeth so chunky and flat?
eats sedges, rushes, roots of shrubs and trees - abrasive diet and continually growing teeth -
crushing of food, grinding of food
What species of wombats are there?
southern hairy nosed wombat (lasiorhinus latifons)
Northern hairy nosed wombat (largest burrows) lasiorhinus krefftii (endangered)
What animals are Pseudocheiridae,
two species?
and what special adaptations do they have to their environment
ringtail possum
- prehensile tail used for collecting foliage to make a nest (drey)
- folivorous - leaf eating
eastern ringtail - fine
western ringtail is rare and threatened species as they have a specialist diet called peppermint gum
Why is possums survival rates low (Ringtail possums)?
vulnerable to road kill - ophans often raised by wildlife carers
survival of hand-raised ringtails very low - mostly killed by foxes and cats
high predation of wild invividuals
Mange to persist through high productive out - 2 yonge per brood.
what is the largest glider? and do they have
Pseudocheiridae
1.7kg
eats eucalyptus leaves like ringtail possum
non prehenile tail
large caecum
Petauridae family, what are some examples
what adaption do they have
and what diet they eat
yellow bellied glider
sugar glider
striped possum
mahogany glider
they are noisy and social
eat sap - find sap producing trees
Prehensile tail
How are sugar gliders impacting the life of a swift parrot?
Sugar gliders are taking the swifts parrots food source
fighting around mating
What Pseudocheiridae has one long digit? and what is the adaptation for?
Striped possum - north QLD wet tropics
used to fossick under bark for grubs
What are some animals are apart of the Phalangeridae family?
Cuscus
brushtailed possum
bobuck possum
scaly tailed possum kimberly
What are some animals are apart of the Burramyidae family?
pygmy possum
mountain pygmy possum
What are some animals are apart of the Tarsipedidaw family?
and how are they specialised for nectarivory
Honey Possum
brush tongue, reduced teeth
very specialised for nectarivory
Largest mammalian sperm
smallest young at birth
very few teeth
