Microbiotheria
E538447
Microbiotheria is a small and ancient order of South American marsupials best known for the monito del monte, a species considered a living fossil and key to understanding marsupial evolution.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Microbiotheriidae | 1 |
Statements (42)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
mammal order
ⓘ
taxonomic order ⓘ |
| belongsToClade | Australidelphia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| bestKnownFor | monito del monte NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| class | Mammalia ⓘ |
| commonName | microbiotheres ⓘ |
| conservationConcern | habitat loss for extant members ⓘ |
| considered |
living fossil lineage
ⓘ
relict group ⓘ |
| containsSpecies | Dromiciops gliroides NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| containsTaxon | Dromiciops NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describedAs |
ancient lineage of marsupials
ⓘ
small order of South American marsupials ⓘ |
| diet |
insectivorous
ⓘ
omnivorous ⓘ |
| distinguishedBy |
distinctive dental morphology
ⓘ
unique auditory and cranial features ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom | Didelphimorphia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| evolutionarySignificance |
key to understanding marsupial evolution
ⓘ
represents ancient australidelphian lineage ⓘ |
| fossilRecordRegion |
Antarctica
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Australia NERFINISHED ⓘ South America NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geographicDistribution | South America NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasCharacteristic |
arboreal adaptations in extant species
ⓘ
nocturnal habits in extant species ⓘ prehensile or semi‑prehensile tail in extant species ⓘ |
| hasCommonNameForMember | monito del monte NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasExtantGeneraCount | 1 ⓘ |
| hasExtantSpeciesCount | few extant species ⓘ |
| infraclass | Marsupialia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| kingdom | Animalia ⓘ |
| nativeTo | temperate forests of southern South America ⓘ |
| phylogeneticRelationship | more closely related to Australian marsupials than to other American marsupials ⓘ |
| phylum | Chordata ⓘ |
| primaryRange |
Argentina
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Chile NERFINISHED ⓘ southern South America ⓘ |
| reproductiveMode | marsupial reproduction ⓘ |
| researchUse |
model for biogeography of southern continents
ⓘ
model for marsupial evolutionary history ⓘ |
| superorder | Australidelphia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Microbiotheriidae