What do you call a pouched mammal

Many predators will avoid sick prey. Opossums are highly resistant to diseases such as rabies because of their efficient immune system and lower body temperature. Opossums can not hang upside down by their tail, but use their tail to climb. Opossums have exactly 50 teeth which is more than any other North American land mammal. The opossum also has opposable thumbs on its hind feet for holding onto branches.

Opossums are managed as furbearers in Maryland. For more information on furbearer management, then please click here.

Skip to Main Content. Menu Menu. You must have Javascript enabled to see this menu. Some species will carry their offspring in their pouches for up to a year, the San Diego Zoo reports. Stay up-to-date on the happenings in Will County's forest preserves by subscribing to The Citizen , our weekly digital newsletter that provides subscribers with updates on Forest Preserve news, upcoming events, and other fun and useful information for the whole family.

If you're only interested in programs, subscribe to The Weekly Five , which outlines the five must-do programs each week. Signing up for either newsletter is easy and free of charge. Let technology enhance your outdoor adventures with these apps recommended by Forest Preserve District interpretive naturalists. Read More. The Citizen The Weekly Five. The Buzz. Photo via Shutterstock Have you ever seen a photo of a kangaroo with a joey — a baby kangaroo — in its mother's pouch and been awed by the adorableness?

What's The Difference: Biodegradable Vs. The wombat, which the National Geographic website describes as "pudgy," is a burrower marsupial with brown or gray fur. Like a koala, a wombat's pouch faces the legs to keep dirt out as the animal digs. Wombats are herbivores that feed on grasses, roots, tubers and even tree bark. There are three species: the common wombat, northern hairy-nosed wombat and southern hairy-nosed wombat. Hairy-nosed wombats have larger ears and softer fur than common wombats.

Named by European settlers for the fierce temper they display when threatened or fighting for food, today the nocturnal Tasmanian devil occurs only on the island of Tasmania. It has black or dark brown fur, grows up to 30 inches in length and can weigh up to 26 pounds. Females give birth to 20 to 30 young at a time, but only have enough nipples inside their pouches to nourish four. Tasmanian devils, the largest carnivorous marsupial, consume fish, insects, snakes, birds and carrion.

Possums, which are tree-dwellers, are the most widespread marsupial. Bandicoots are omnivorous and prefer a diet of insects. They have very short gestation cycles and produce several large litters of young each year. Common throughout Australia and New Guinea, the 27 species of brushtail possums and cuscuses are adapted to nearly every Australian environment. These nocturnal mammals eat a diverse diet of leaves, seeds and insects.

The dasyurids consist of seven species of large marsupial carnivores, including quolls and the Tasmanian devil. Found in coastal areas of Australia and New Guinea, dasyurids are fierce predators known for their occasionally aggressive behavior.

Most dasyurids eat a diet of insects, although larger animals will hunt small mammals and birds, including livestock. Perhaps the most familiar of the pouched mammals, kangaroos and wallabies make up 76 species native to Australia and New Guinea. Kangaroos and wallabies prefer to travel by hopping on the hind limbs, and larger species can travel at over 35 miles per hour. The musky rat kangaroo may be less than a foot tall, while the red kangaroo can grow to over five feet.