Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!munnari!gwydir!ccadfa!csadfa!rim
From: rim@csadfa.oz (Bob McKay)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Australian bats - placental or marsupial?
Message-ID: <1394@csadfa.oz>
Date: 10 May 88 03:08:47 GMT
References: <394@aiva.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University College, UNSW, ADFA, Canberra, Australia
Lines: 28

> marsupial? b) if placental, are there any other indigenous placental
> mammals in Australia ( if indeed bats are indigenous ) c) are there any
> species of flying marsupials ( i.e. not gliding ) elsewhere in the world?
>

To expand on a previous answer:

a) All Australian bats are placental.  But they're not particularly recent 
arrivals, as seemed to be implied by the earlier reply.

b) There ARE other indigenous placental mammals - apart from the expected ones,
like seals, cetaceans etc., there is a considerable variety of placental mice
and rats, the extent of radiation suggesting that they have also been here a 
fair while (there are also a number of so-called marsupial 'mice' and 'rats', 
just to confuse the picture).  Then there is the dingo, which was here long 
before European settlement, but was PROBABLY introduced by the aboriginals.  

c) None of the Australasian marsupials fly (although feather gliders - a species
of possum - sometimes look like they're right on the verge)

d) The only non-Australasian marsupials now extant are the oppossum group of
South America (with recent extension into N America).  Offhand, I don't think
any of them glide.
-- 
Bob McKay		   Phone ISD:	+61 62 68 8169	    STD: (062) 68 8169
Dept. Computer Science		ACSNET,CSNET:	rim@csadfa.cs.adfa.oz
Aust. Defence Force Academy	UUCP:	...!uunet!munnari!csadfa.cs.adfa.oz!rim
Canberra ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA	ARPA:	rim%csadfa.cs.adfa.oz@uunet.uu.net