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Table of Contents and Preface
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1 What is a marsupial?
This is the story of a group of mammals that were isolated from the rest of the world for many millions of years. It is set on the great southern continent of Gondwana that stretched from the Caribbean to the islands of New Guinea and included the three present-day continents of South America, Antarctica and Australasia. The characters are the marsupial mammals and the plot is how they came to be there and how they adapted to the special conditions of their vast homeland.
pp. 1-36
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2 Reproduction and development
Reproduction is a costly business for any mammal, but essential for survival of the species. For females it demands the transfer of nutrients to the young throughout the dependent period of its development and growth, whether this be by way of yolk, uterine secretions or milk; for males it demands the expenditure of much energy in establishing territory, repulsing rival males and seeking oestrous females; and for the young the stage when it begins to leave its mother is the most vulnerable time of its life.
pp. 37-102
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3 Opossums of the Americas: cousins from a distant time
Seventy-six species of marsupial live in South America and Central America, from sea level to the subalpine zone at 4200 m and from the tropics to the cool temperate climate of southern Chile and Patagonia: most are forest dwellers, living on fruits, insects and other small animals. Although widespread, they comprise only 7% of all mammal species of the American tropical region, being far outnumbered by bats (46%) and rodents (27%).
pp. 103-138
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4 Predatory marsupials of Australasia: bright-eyed killers of the night
The carnivorous marsupials of Australasia range in size from the tiny ningauis, Ningaui, and planigales,Planigale, at 2–10 g, to the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, of 9 kg. Most are members of the large family Dasyuridae, with 47 species in Australia and 17 in New Guinea and surrounding islands, only two of which are common to both regions.
pp. 139-164
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5 Bandicoots: fast-living opportunists
The word bandicoot comes from India. In its South Indian (Telegu) form, pandi-kokku, it means pig-rat and refers to the large rat, Bandicoota bengaliensis. George Bass first used the term for some Australian marsupials in 1799, during the circumnavigation of Tasmania with Matthew Flinders. The term is now so commonly used in Australia for members of the marsupial family Peramelidae that no other common name is considered.
pp. 165-182
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6 Pygmy possums and sugar gliders: pollen eaters and sap suckers
Marsupials that feed on plants fall into three groups, based on body size and what part of the plant they eat. First, the smallest species, up to 0.7 kg, use plant exudates and nectar for their energy needs, and fungi, pollen or small invertebrates for protein; the second, from 0.5 kg to 15 kg, live on the leaves of forest trees; the third, are the ground-dwelling browsers and grazers, which range from 1 kg rat kangaroos, 50 kg wombats and 80 kg kangaroos.
pp. 183-218
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7 Life in the trees: koala, greater glider and possum
Leaf-eating marsupials inhabit the forests and woodlands of Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands. They consume the leaves of Eucalyptus and other tree species, and occupy those niches that in other parts of the world are filled by flying squirrels, lemurs, leaf-eating monkeys and sloths. They range in body mass from 700 g to 15 kg, the lower limit set by the nature of their leaf diet, and the upper limit set by the energetic costs of climbing to, and being supported by, the smaller branches so as to reach the leaves.
pp. 219-266
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8 Wombats: vegetarians of the underworld
Wombats are the only survivors of a diverse range of large herbivores that evolved in the mid Miocene epoch to exploit the grasslands of Australia. They are bulk feeders that ferment plant tissue in a large colon at the back end of the gut.
pp. 267-286
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9 Consummate kangaroos
Kangaroos have been astonishingly successful in Australia and New Guinea. The superfamily Macropodoidea includes 19 species in New Guinea and 49 species in Australia, only three of which are common to both countries. In Australia another six species have gone extinct since European settlement, so 150 years ago the grand total was 72 species. This is one-third of all marsupial species in Australasia.
pp. 287-364
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10 Marsupials and people: past and present
Marsupials have had a large part in the culture of the peoples of Australia and New Guinea as sources of food and as part of the Dreamtime creation stories (see Flood 1997). In both places species now extinct can be recognised in ancient rock art, and the former distributions of species that have vanished since European settlement have been traced by interpreting the memories and creation stories of Aboriginal people today (Tunbridge 1991).
pp. 365-442
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