The pouch is a distinguishing feature of marsupials; the name marsupial is derived from the Latin marsupium, meaning pouch. Marsupials give birth to a live but relatively undeveloped fetus called a Joey. When the Joey is born it crawls from the vagina to the pouch. The pouch is basically a fold of skin with a single opening that covers the nipples to protect the Joey as it continues to develop. Download high resolution version (765x645, 44 KB) Joey (baby kangaroo) in its mothers pouch. ... Download high resolution version (765x645, 44 KB) Joey (baby kangaroo) in its mothers pouch. ... Orders Superorder Ameridelphia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Superorder Australidelphia Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Marsupials are mammals in which the female typically has a pouch (called the marsupium, from which the name Marsupial derives) in which it rears its young through early infancy. ... Fetus at eight weeks A fetus (alternatively foetus or fœtus) is an unborn vertebrate offspring after the embryonary stage. ... A wallaby with her joey A joey is any infant marsupial. ... Nipple is, generally, the name given to the mammalian nipple, or to things resembling it, such as the tip of an artificial teat or the tip of a grease-secreting mechanism in machinery. ...
Pouches are different amongst the different marsupials: for example the Tasmanian Devil's pouch opens to the rear and the Joey only has to travel a short distance to get to the opening of the pouch, while in the pouch they are permanently attached to the nipple and once the young have developed they leave the pouch and do not return. The kangaroo's opens horizontally on the front of the body, and the Joey must climb a relatively long way to reach it. Kangaroos and wallabies allow their young to live in the pouch well after they are physically capable of leaving. Binomial name Sarcophilus laniarius (Owen, 1838) Synonyms The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus laniarius), also referred to simply as the devil, is a carnivorous marsupial now found only in the Australian island state of Tasmania. ... Species Macropus rufus Macropus giganteus Macropus fuliginosus A Kangaroo seen in Canberra A kangaroo is any of several large macropods (the marsupial family that also includes the wallabies, tree kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the quokka: 45 species in all). ... Red-necked Wallaby A wallaby (sometimes spelled wallabee) is any of about 30 species of macropod (family macropodidae). ...
Marsupial, common name for a group of mammals typically distinguished by a pouch in the female, called a marsupium, where offspring are carried.
The kangaroo, koala, wombat, and opossum are well-known marsupials, as are other less-familiar animals, such as the numbat, bandicoot, ringtail possum, and thylacine.
Most marsupial species are found in Australia and New Zealand, although many live in parts of South America, and one species—the Virginia opossum—is found in some regions of North America.
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