Editing Fauna of Australia (section)

===Monotremes and marsupials===
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Two of the five living species of [[monotreme]] occur in Australia: the [[platypus]] and the [[short-beaked echidna]],<ref name="e36">Egerton, p. 36.</ref> the other three being [[Long-beaked echidna|echidnas]] that only occur in New Guinea. Monotremes differ from other mammals in their methods of reproduction; in particular, they lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.<ref name="e36" /> The platypus — a [[venom]]ous, egg-laying, duck-billed amphibious mammal — is considered to be one of the strangest creatures in the animal kingdom. When it was first presented by [[Joseph Banks]] to English naturalists it was thought to be a hoax.<ref name="e36" /><ref name="m44">Menkhorst and Knight, p. 44.</ref> The short-beaked echidna is covered in hairy spikes with a tubular snout in the place of a mouth, and a tongue that can move in and out of the snout at a rate of 100 times a minute to capture [[termite]]s.<ref name=m44/><ref name=e37>Egerton, p. 37.</ref>
[[Image:SpottedQuoll 2005 SeanMcClean.jpg|left|thumb|The [[spotted quoll]] is mainland Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial and an [[endangered species]].<ref>Egerton, pp. 70–76.</ref><ref name=m48>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 48.</ref>]]
Australia has the world's largest and most diverse range of [[marsupial]]s.<ref name=e39>Egerton, p. 39.</ref> Marsupials are characterised by the presence of a pouch in which they rear their young after birth.<ref name=e39/> The carnivorous marsupials — [[Dasyuromorphia]] — are represented by two surviving families: the [[Dasyuridae]] with 51 members, and the Myrmecobiidae with the [[numbat]] as its sole extant species.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Cooper, C. E. | year = 2011 | title = ''Myrmecobius fasciatus'' (Dasyuromorphia: Myrmecobiidae) | journal = Mammalian Species | volume = 43 | issue = 1 | pages = 129–140 | doi = 10.1644/881.1| doi-access = free}}</ref> The Tasmanian tiger was the largest Dasyuromorphia<ref name=m46>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 46.</ref> and the last living specimen of the family [[Thylacinidae]] died in captivity in 1936.<ref name="e77" /> The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial is the [[Tasmanian devil]]; it is the size of a small dog and can hunt, although it is mainly a scavenger.<ref name=m46/><ref name=e69>Egerton, p. 69.</ref> It became extinct on the mainland some 600 years ago, and is now found only in [[Tasmania]].<ref name=e69/> There are four species of [[quoll]], or "native cat", all of which are threatened species.<ref name=m48/> The eastern quoll for example is believed to have been extinct on the mainland since the 1960s, though there are efforts to reintroduce it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=In Situ Work|url=http://conservationjournal.world/in-situ-work/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905132154/http://conservationjournal.world/in-situ-work/|archive-date=5 September 2018|website=Conjour}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Ainslie Drewitt|date=29 October 2020|title=Newborn eastern quoll joeys to be tracked with tail transmitters|work=ABC News Illawarra|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-29/newborn-quoll-joeys-to-be-tracked-with-tail-transmitters/12823180|access-date=26 August 2021}}</ref> The remainder of the Dasyuridae are referred to as "marsupial mice";<ref name=e68>Egerton, p. 68.</ref> most weigh less than 100&nbsp;g.<ref>{{cite book|editor= Macdonald, D.|author= Lee, A.K.|year= 1984 |title= The Encyclopedia of Mammals|publisher= Facts on File|location= New York|pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/838 838–845]|isbn= 978-0-87196-871-5|url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/838}}</ref> There are two species of [[marsupial mole]] — order [[Notoryctemorphia]] — that inhabit the deserts of Western Australia. These rare, blind and earless carnivorous creatures spend most of their time underground; little is known about them.<ref>Egerton, p. 57.</ref><ref>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 52.</ref>
[[Image:Sugies03 hp.jpg|thumb|The [[sugar glider]]]]
The [[bandicoot]]s and [[bilby|bilbies]] — order [[Peramelemorphia]] — are marsupial [[omnivore]]s.<ref>Egerton, pp. 78–79.</ref> There are seven extant species in Australia, most of which are endangered.<ref name=mb>Menkhorst and Knight, pp. 80–84.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Types of Bandicoots|url=http://www.bandicoot.net.au/types_of_bandicoots.htm|access-date=7 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317072153/http://www.bandicoot.net.au/types_of_bandicoots.htm|archive-date=17 March 2011}}</ref> These small creatures share several characteristic physical features: a plump, arch-backed body with a long, delicately tapering snout, large upright ears, long, thin legs, and a thin tail.<ref name=mb/> The evolutionary origin of this group is unclear, because they share characteristics from both carnivorous and herbivorous marsupials.
[[Image:Australia Cairns Koala.jpg|left|thumb|The [[koala]] does not normally need to drink, because it can obtain all of the moisture it needs by eating leaves.]]
Marsupials with two front teeth (diprotodont) on the lower jaw and [[Syndactyl|syndactyly]] are classified in the order [[Diprotodontia]], and further into the suborders [[Vombatiformes]], [[Macropodiformes]] and [[Phalangerida]]. The Vombatiformes include the koala and the three species of [[wombat]]. One of Australia's best-known marsupials, the [[koala]] is an arboreal species that feeds on the leaves of various species of [[eucalyptus]].<ref name=m86>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 86.</ref> Wombats, on the other hand, live on the ground and feed on [[Poaceae|grasses]], [[Cyperaceae|sedges]] and [[root]]s.<ref name=m86/> Wombats use their diprotodont teeth and powerful claws to dig extensive burrow systems; they are mainly [[crepuscular]] and [[nocturnal animal|nocturnal]].<ref name=m86/>

The [[Phalangerida]] includes six families and 26 species of [[Phalangeriformes|possum]] and three families with 53 species of [[Macropodidae|macropod]]. The possums are a diverse group of arboreal marsupials and vary in size from the [[little pygmy possum]], weighing just 7&nbsp;g,<ref>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 92.</ref> to the cat-sized [[Common ringtail possum|common ringtail]] and [[Common brushtail possum|brushtail]] possums.<ref>Egerton, p. 60.</ref><ref>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 90.</ref> The [[Sugar glider|sugar]] and [[squirrel glider]]s are common species of gliding possum, found in the eucalypt forests of eastern Australia, while the [[feathertail glider]] is the smallest glider species.<ref>Egerton, pp. 64–65.</ref><ref>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 94.</ref> The gliding possums have membranes called "patagia" that extend from the fifth finger of their forelimb back to the first toe of their hind foot. These membranes, when outstretched, allow them to glide between trees.

The macropods are divided into three families: the [[Musky rat-kangaroo|Hypsiprymnodontidae]], with the musky rat-kangaroo as its only member;<ref>Egerton, p. 55.</ref> the [[Potoroidae]], with 11 species; and the [[Macropodidae]], with 45 species.<ref>Menkhorst and Knight, pp. 17–18.</ref> Macropods are found in all Australian environments except alpine areas. The Potoroidae include the bettongs, potaroos and rat-kangaroos, small species that make nests and carry plant material with their tails.<ref>Menkhorst and Knight, pp. 17, 104–110.</ref> The Macropodiae include [[kangaroo]]s, [[wallaby|wallabies]] and associated species; size varies widely within this family. Most macropods have large hind legs and long, narrow hind feet,<ref>Menkhorst and Knight, pp. 17–18, 110–120.</ref> with a distinctive arrangement of four toes, and powerfully muscled [[Tail (anatomy)|tail]]s, which they use to hop around.<ref name=e42>Egerton, p. 42.</ref> The musky rat-kangaroo is the smallest macropod and the only species that is quadrupedal not bipedal,<ref>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 110.</ref> while the male [[red kangaroo]] is the largest, reaching a height of about 2&nbsp;m and weighing up to 85&nbsp;kg.<ref name="Egerton, p. 44"/><ref>Menkhorst and Knight, p. 120.</ref>