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Fertilization of Marsupials

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Book cover A Comparative Overview of Mammalian Fertilization

Abstract

There are three distinct mammalian lineages; the monotremes, which lay eggs (e.g., platypus); marsupials, which give birth to embryo-like young (e.g., koala and kangaroos); and the eutherians, which include all the familiar “placental” mammals. For many years a hierarchical view of their relationships held scientific and popular sway that saw mammalian evolution as an ascending climb to placental status in the eutherians. Contemporary thought recognizes that both eutherians and marsupials are placental, but with different emphasis on the roles of the uterus and lactation in development (for review, see Tyndale-Biscoe and Renfree, 1987). Put very simply, the fetal stage of marsupial development is completed after leaving the uterus, while the young is suckled, usually in a pouch (see reviews in Tyndale-Biscoe and Janssens, 1988). It was the presence of this “second uterus” or delphis that gave the first marsupial described by Western science its generic name Didelphis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, 2308, New South Wales, Australia

    John C. Rodger

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  1. Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, 77030, Houston, Texas, USA

    Bonnie S. Dunbar

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Michael G. O’Rand

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Rodger, J.C. (1991). Fertilization of Marsupials. In: Dunbar, B.S., O’Rand, M.G. (eds) A Comparative Overview of Mammalian Fertilization. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-8982-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-8982-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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