Marsupials
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Marsupials
Marsupials
are the group of mammals commonly thought of as pouched mammals. They give live birth,
but they do not have long gestation times like placental mammals. Instead, they give birth very
early and the young animal, essentially a helpless embryo, climbs from the mother's birth canal
to the nipples. There it grabs on with its mouth and continues to develop, often for weeks or
months depending on the species. Though marsupials today do not have as many species as do the
placental mammals, they are quite structurally diverse. They range from small four-footed forms
like the marsupial mole.
To see a larger photograph click on the images below
Tasmanian Devil(Sarcophilus harrisii)
Classification: Order Dasyuromorphia
Description: A burrowing nocturnal carnivorous marsupial
having a predominantly blackish coat and a long, almost hairless tail. Now found only in Tasmania.
Age: Modern
Size: 5.6in/14.3cm
Item#: modern-tasmanian-devil-skull-r-s319-va
Cost: $200
(+ shipping)
Tasmanian Wolf(Thylacinus cynocephalus)
Classification: Order Dasyuromorphia
Description:
The Tasmanian Wolf is believed to have been extinct for nearly sixty-five years. Despite its appearance and its popular name, this animal was not in fact a species of wolf, nor was it a dog, which it also resembled. It was actually a marsupial -- the largest carnivorous marsupial in recent times -- and was closely related to the kangaroo and the wombat. (Its pouch is not visible in this mount.) Thus the Tasmanian Wolf's Latin name, Thylacinus cynocephalus, meaning "pouched dog with wolf head," reflects the animal's true nature as well as its similarity to the dog and the wolf. The Tasmanian Wolf's resemblance to unrelated species is a result of what scientists call convergent evolution, in which similar features develop separately in different species. The Tasmanian Wolf evolved into a form comparable to members of the dog family because it filled much the same ecological niche in Australia as true dogs do in their environments. The extinction of the Tasmanian Wolf is attributable solely to activities of human beings. In the nineteenth century, when Tasmania encouraged agriculture, the Tasmanian Wolf was considered a threat to livestock, and bounty hunters were paid twenty-five cents per scalp as part of a concerted, and successful, effort to eliminate the animal. It was soon hunted to extinction. Today, in the hopes that the Tasmanian Wolf is not truly extinct, the Australian Conservation Foundation offers $100 just for a sighting of the animal's tracks. So far, there has been none.
Age: Modern
Size:8.7in/22cm
Item#: modern-tasmanian-wolf-skull-r-s327-va
Cost: $220
(+ shipping)
American Opossum(Didelphis virginianus)
Classification: Didelphidae
Description:
North American Opossums are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night and sleep during the day. They generally are pretty slow moving. When frightened, instead of running they will often enter an involuntary shock-like state, known as "playing possum." They will also sometimes hiss or growl, and bare their teeth when frightened or threatened. North American Opossums are very adaptable animals. They can live almost anywhere, provided they have food, water and shelter. They often live in trees, where they use their long, flexible tail to add stability when climbing. They do not, however, hang upside down from their tail. In captivity, North American Opossums can live up to 10 years. In the wild, however, very few Opossums live past their first year. They have numerous predators, including humans. North American Opossums can make great pets. This is especially true if they are hand fed. Hand feeding should begin before their eyes are open for the best results. Because they are nocturnal they are usually not very sociable during the daytime and this should be kept in mind before purchase. Most tame North American Opossums are slow, calm animals that love to be held. They are not known to bite, unless they feel threatened.
Age: Modern
Size: 4.5 in / 10.8 cm/
Item#: modern-opossum-skull-r-s38-va
Cost: $95
(+ shipping)
Possum, Brush Tailed(Trichosurus vulpecula)
Classification: Diprotodontia
Description:
The Brush Tailed Possum lives throughout mainland Australia, Tasmania and Kangaroo Island, but not in the extreme north West or Northern Territory. They are a marsupial, carrying their young in a pouch until independent. They reach a length of up to 580mm and with a tail of up to 350 mm make an animal of up to 900mm in length for the largest specimens. They average a weight of 2.4kg. The colour of the Brush Tailed Possum is grey-brown sometimes with black and white in many variations. Adult males are usually red across the shoulders and they all have thick soft fur. Its tail is prehensile, meaning it can use it as a fifth limb, hanging from it or using it to grasp branches. The Brush Tailed Possum is arboreal (tree dwelling) and nocturnal (coming out at night) and usually nests in tree hollows. It lives in forests but sometimes is found in other regions in caves or burrows for shelter. In populated areas they can be a nuisance to people by getting into roof spaces to sleep and nest. They eat young shoots of plants, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds insects and even young birds. They usually have a single young after a 17 day gestation the young is born and spends 5 months in the pouch then finally is independent at around 12 months.
Age: Modern
Size: 3.9in/9.9cm
Item#: modern-possum-skull-r-s322-va
Cost: $120
(+ shipping)
Koala(Phascolarctos cinereus)
Classification: Diprotodontia
Description:
Koalas are arboreal, remaining mostly in the branches of the eucalyptus trees, where they are able to feed and stay out of reach of their predators. The koala is confined to eucalyptus forests below 600 m. Koalas from the southern end of the range are generally larger in size than their northern counterparts. In both areas they exhibit sexual dimorphism with the males being larger. The koala's have a vestigial tail. Females have two mammae; and rather than a chest gland, have a pouch that opens to the rear and extends upward and forward. Koalas have dense, wooly fur that is gray to brown on top and varies with geographic location. There is white on the chin, chest and inner side of the forelimbs. The rump is often dappled with white patches and the ears are fringed with long white hairs. The coat is generally shorther and lighter in the north of range. The paws are large, and both fore and hind feet have five strongly clawed digits. On the forepaw the first and second digits oppose the other three which enables the koala to grip branches as it climbs. The first digit of the hind foot is short and greatly broadened while the second and third digits are relatively small and partly syndactylous but have separate claws.
Age: Modern
Size: 6in/15.2cm
Item#: modern-koala-skull-ca-16106-va
Cost: $240
(+ shipping)
Wombat(Phascolomys ursinus)
Classification: Diprotodontia
Description:
The Wombat is often called a badger, on account of its robustness and burrowing habits, but it far excels the true or placental badger in strength and in ability to dig deep tunnels with great rapidity. The animal is squat and bear-like in shape, powerfully built and with a very small tail. The usual colour is brown though grey and buff variations occur. The animal usually lives in a burrow, though caves or piles of rocks may also serve for a den; it feeds on herbage and grasses and prefers open forest country or rocky areas, from sea level to as high as 3,000 feet. It avoids thick rain forest, probably to get freedom of movement. The wombat family is widespread in Tasmania and on the Australian continent, but its reproductive habits are not completely known; the young, usually a single individual, is born in the autumn, but there are two nipples available for suckling.
Age: Modern
Size: 7.1in/18.0cm
Item#: modern-wombat-skull-r-s74-va
Cost: $160
(+ shipping)
Rat Kangaroo
Classification: Aepyprymnus
Rufescens
Description:
The rat kangaroo looks like a huge rat, with long hind legs, hind feet lacking a first toe, and a well-haired, nonprehensile, long and tapering tail. Its ears are fairly long. Its fur is long and coarse, a grizzled reddish-gray on the back, and lighter on the belly, with a white hip stripe. The head and body length is 20", with an average weight of 6.5 lbs.
Age: Modern
Size: 3.3 in / 8.4 cm
Item#: rat-kangaroo-skull-ca-rb4831-va
Cost: $160
(+ shipping)
Rock Wallaby Skull
Classification: Diprotodontia
Description: Petrogate Penicillata. Female skull.
Short-eared rock-wallabies have short fur and ears. The back is light grey and there is a dark brown neck stripe from behind the ears to the shoulder. The undersides are white to greyish-white and the tail is darker at the end. The monjon is the smallest of the rock-wallabies. Its back is olive-coloured but marbled with black and fawn. The orange face features a light stripe from the eye to the ear. The tail is a light greyish-olive, the flanks a deep olive and the undersides yellowish. The species has shorter ears than the nabarlek (less than 35 millimetres long). The nabarlek is a dull reddish-colour with light grey and black marbling and greyish-white beneath. The tail is tipped with a black brush, and a dark but indistinct shoulder stripe can sometimes be seen. Rothschild's rock-wallabies have dark brown ears and upper faces, while the neck, throat and cheeks are a very light grey. The rest of the body is greyish-brown above and light brown below, with a darker tail. However, the back of the neck and shoulders can sometimes be a purplish colour. Black-footed rock-wallabies are generally greyish-brown, with some grey on their head and shoulders. The brownish-grey tail ends in a black brush. They have a whitish and dark brown side stripe. They have a light stripe on the cheek and a dark stripe from the forehead to the mid-back.
Age: Modern
Size: 4.5 in / 11.4 cm
Item#: rock-wallaby-skull-ca-04307-va
Cost: $120
(+ shipping)
Tree Kangaroo
Classification: Dendrolagus
sp.
Description:
Their tree-dwelling lifestyle is indeed what distinguishes these arboreal kangaroos from regular kangaroos. Regular kangaroos are believed to have evolved from rat-sized creatures that originally lived in trees, but descended to live on the ground as the rainforests changed to more open habitats and savannahs. In a way, tree kangaroos went back to the trees! Tree kangaroos spend most of their time in trees so their limbs are different from regular kangaroos. Their front and back limbs are more equal in length. Their forearms are longer and stronger. But unlike primates, they don't have opposable thumbs. Nevertheless, they have dextrous forepaw: they can grasp stems in their fingers and have very flexible wrists. Their back legs and feet are short and broad with rough textured pads and long and curved claws, to improve grip. They don't have the grotesquely larger hind legs that other kangaroos do.
Age: Modern
Size:
Item#: tree-kangaroo-skull-ca-rb2550-va
Cost: $120
(+ shipping)
Red Kangaroo
Classification: Macropus rufus
Description:
Long, hind, hopping limbs, short arms, large heavy tail, red fur on backs of males, gray fur on females, white furred bellies on both. Red kangaroos are famous for their hopping and being the biggest marsupials around. Herbivores that graze mostly on grass, the red kangaroo congregates in groups of up to ten to feed together. These groups are based more on being in the same place than close family ties. Mother and joey stick together for years after the baby has left mama's pouch. Joeys are born as small, bean-sized hairless babies that climb up and into the safety of the pouch. That's where he continues to grow. After 33 weeks, a joey becomes too big to be carried around, but many try to climb back in until they get the message from mom that taxi-time is over!
Age: Modern
Size:
Item#: modern-red-kangaroo-skull-ca-04307-va
Cost: $220
(+ shipping)
Anteater, Numbat Banded(Myrmecobius fasciatus)
Classification: Xenarthra
Description:
Small Australian marsupial having long snout and strong
claws for feeding on termites; nearly extinct.
The Numbat is a pouchless marsupial from open woodlands in western Australia. Also called the banded anteater, it is one of the few marsupials that is diurnal (most active during the day). At night, they take shelter in hollow logs. These solitary, long-tailed termite-eaters are in danger of extinction; very few remain in the wild. The numbat has a life span of 5-6 years in captivity. The numbat is about 16 inches (41 cm) long, including the tail. It has reddish brown fur that is lighter on the belly. There are prominent white and dark-brown stripes along the numbat's back. It has a long, bushy tail, often carried erect. Each animal has unique, individual markings.
Age: Modern
Size:
Item#: modern-numbat-banded-anteater-skull-r-s368-va
Cost: $120
(+ shipping)
