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Microbiotheriidae
Microbiotheriidae is a family of australidelphian marsupials represented by only one extant species, the monito del monte, and a number of extinct species known from fossils in South America, Western Antarctica, and northeastern Australia. Microbiotheriids were once thought to be members of the order Didelphimorphia (which contains the Virginia opossum); however, an accumulation of both anatomical and genetic evidence in recent years has led to the conclusion that microbiotheriids and other microbiotheres are not didelphids at all, but are instead most closely related to the Australasian marsupials; together, the microbiotheres and the Australian orders form the clade Australidelphia which are now thought to have first evolved in the South American region of Gondwana. Biogeography and evolution The oldest microbiotheriid and microbiothere currently recognised is '' Khasia cordillerensis'', based on fossil teeth from Early Palaeocene deposits at Tiupampa, Bolivia. Numerou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dromiciops Gliroides
The monito del monte (''Dromiciops gliroides''), or colocolo opossum, is a diminutive species of marsupial native only to south-western South America (Argentina and Chile). It is the only extant species in the ancient order Microbiotheria, and the sole New World representative of the superorder Australidelphia, being more closely related to Australian marsupials than to other American marsupials. The species is Nocturnality, nocturnal and arboreal, and lives in thickets of Chusquea, South American mountain bamboo in the Valdivian temperate forests of the southern Andes, aided by its partially prehensile tail. It consumes an omnivorous diet based on insects and fruit. Taxonomy and etymology ''Dromiciops gliroides'' is the sole extant member of the order Microbiotheria. It was first Scientific description, described by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1894. The Generic name (biology), generic name ''Dromiciops'' is based on the resemblance of the monito del monte to the eastern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
