Title: 
Headings: CONVERGENCE: MARSUPIALS AND PLACENTALS
CONVERGENCE:
MARSUPIALS
 
AND
 
PLACENTALS

Content: ©2001
 
WGBH
 
Educational
 
Foundation
 
and
 
Clear
 
Blue
 
Sky
 
Productions,
 
Inc.
 
All
 
rights
 
reserved. Marsupial
 
mice,
 
like
 
placental
 
mice
 
in
 
North
 
America,
 
are
 
small,
 
agile
 
climbers
 
inhabiting
 
low
shrubs. They
 
live
 
in
 
dense
 
ground
 
cover
 
and
 
forage
 
at
 
night
 
for
 
small
 
food
 
items
 
The
 
two
 
mice
 
exhibit
similarities
 
in
 
size
 
and
 
body
 
shape,
 
and
 
each
 
group
 
has
 
numerous
 
species. Flying
 
phalangers
 
resemble
 
flying
 
squirrels. Both
 
are
 
gliders
 
that
 
eat
 
insects
 
and
 
plants. Both
 
the
 
pha-
langer
 
and
 
squirrel
 
have
 
skin
 
stretched
 
between
 
forelimbs
 
and
 
hindlimbs
 
to
 
provide
 
greater
 
surface
 
area
for
 
gliding
 
from
 
one
 
tree
 
to
 
the
 
next. Marsupial
 
moles,
 
like
 
common
 
moles
 
in
 
North
 
America,
 
burrow
 
through
 
soft
 
soil
 
to
 
find
 
and
eat
 
insects. The
 
streamlined
 
body
 
shape,
 
and
 
the
 
modified
 
forelimbs
 
for
 
digging,
 
facilitate
 
an
 
under-
ground,
 
insect-eating
 
way
 
of
 
life. Velvety
 
fur
 
expedites
 
smooth
 
movement
 
through
 
the
 
soil. The
 
fur
 
is
white
 
to
 
orange
 
in
 
the
 
marsupial
 
mole
 
and
 
gray
 
in
 
the
 
North
 
American
 
mole.