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Australia is home to two of the five extant species of monotremes and the majority of the world's marsupials (the remainder are from Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and the Americas). The taxonomy is somewhat fluid; this list generally follows Menkhorst and Knight [ 1 ] and Van Dyck and Strahan, [ 2 ] with some input from the global list ...
Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae / n oʊ t ə ˈ r ɪ k t ɪ d iː / family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found in the Australian interior. [2] They are small burrowing marsupials that anatomically converge on fossorial placental mammals, such as extant golden moles (Chrysochloridae) and extinct epoicotheres ().
The latter subclass is divided into two infraclasses: pouched mammals (metatherians or marsupials), and placental mammals (eutherians, for which see List of placental mammals). Classification updated from Wilson and Reeder's "Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference" using the "Planet Mammifères" website.
Most Australian marsupials outside the order Diprotodontia have a varying number of incisors between their upper and lower jaws. Early marsupials had a dental formula of 5.1.3.4/4.1.3.4 per quadrant, consisting of five (maxillary) or four (mandibular) incisors, one canine, three premolars, and four molars, totaling 50 teeth.
True moles are found in most parts of North America, Europe (except for Ireland) and Asia. [3] Other mammals referred to as moles include the African golden moles and the Australian marsupial moles, which have a similar ecology and lifestyle to true moles, but are unrelated.
Base map derived from File:BlankMap-World6.svg. Distribution data from File:Southern Marsupial Mole area.png and File:Northern Marsupial Mole area.png ( IUCN Red List ) Author
The northern marsupial mole or kakarratul (Notoryctes caurinus) is a marsupial in the family Notoryctidae, an endemic animal of arid regions of Central Australia. It lives in the loose sand of dunes and river plains in the desert, spending nearly its entire life beneath ground. [ 3 ]
A recent study indicates that remains of marsupial moles have been found in 5% of the cats and foxes faecal pellets examined. [19] Moles are also sensitive to changes in the availability of their food caused by changing fire regimes and the impact of herbivores. The southern marsupial mole is currently listed as endangered by the IUCN. [2]