The Paleontology of North America

Marsupials from North America

What are Marsupials? Marsupials are the so-called pouched mammals; their young are born while they are still basically embryos and must crawl into the mother’s external pouch (called the marsupium) to finish development. Although they once lived all over the world, marsupials are more restricted in their range today. Opossums are the only naturally occurring marsupial in North America. Australia boasts many species of marsupial, including kangaroos, bandicoots, Tasmanian devils, wombats, gliding phalangers, marsupial mice, and many more.

First known fossil occurrence: Cretaceous.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

Fossils through time:
Choose a time period to see what life was like:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian