The Three Ms - Mammals, Marsupials and Monotremes Quiz

Answer: They carry their young in a pouch

Marsupials carry their young in a pouch for some of their gestation periods. Most Australian mammals are also marsupials, and marsupials are generally found in the Australasian region.

Kangaroos are tiny when they are born, about the size of a jellybean. They normally remain in the pouch except for small periods until around nine months of age. Kangaroos also possess the ability to diapause or suspend the development of pregnancy during times of drought and poor food or water supply.

Answer: Marsupials

Quolls range from quite small, around 300g to large, around 7 kg. When giving birth, quolls may have up to 18 puppies, but only 6 survive to be suckled.

Marsupials are a class of mammals within the animal kingdom. As well as giving birth to live young, marsupials carry their young within a pouch. Monotremes are a separate, specialist category of mammals. There are only two known living species in the world of monotremes.

Many Australian mammals are also marsupials, including koalas, kangaroos and possums.

Answer: Platypus

The male platypus has a venomous spur on its hind leg which administers a painful sting. When the first specimens of platypuses (no agreement has been reached on how to spell the plural) reached Europe, many naturalists thought that it was a joke or prank animal.

There are only two monotremes (egg-bearing mammals) both of whom are native to Australia.

The other options are all well known Australian mammals and marsupials.

Answer: Echidna

The echidna is named after a Greek mythological creature believed to be half-woman, half-snake. After a young echidna is hatched, it lives in its mother's pouch for several months, much like members of the marsupial family.

The echidna has been described as looking like a porcupine or hedgehog.

Answer: Dingo

The dingo is believed to descended from Asian wild dogs. There is considerable debate amongst the scientific community about when the dingo was introduced to the Australian mainland, with some estimates suggesting between 4000 - 10000 years ago. The dingo is featured in rock art and Australian dreaming stories. The purest population of dingoes is found on Fraser Island off the Queensland coast.

Kangaroos, koalas and wombats are predominantly herbivorous animals living in Australia.

Answer: Tasmania

The thylacine was also known as the Tasmanian tiger due to its distinctive striped back. It was close to extinct on the Australian mainland at the time of European settlement, however, colonies survived until the 1930s in Tasmania where it was widely hunted. The last thylacine known to have existed died in captivity due to exposure in 1936. Since then there have been extensive searches to locate any wild thylacine. They were officially declared extinct in 1986.

The other states listed are likely to have had thylacine populations at the time of European settlement.

Answer: Eucalyptus

While there are over 600 varieties of eucalyptus tree, the koala prefers around 30 of these varieties. Due to the low energy obtained from its diet, the koala sleeps for around 20 hours a day. It is a nocturnal animal. During the mating season, male koalas are more active, moving in search of a mate.

The coolabah is a species of eucalyptus tree and is featured in the Australian song 'Waltzing Matilda'. The gum tree is a common name given to eucalyptus trees.

The oldest species of tree found still in existence is the 'Wollemi pine' which has an undisclosed location in the Blue Mountains.

Answer: Devil

The Tasmanian devil was once found on the Australian mainland, but is believed to have become extinct around 400 years ago. The teeth of a devil were found made into a necklace on a 7000-year-old skeleton in NSW.

The devil is the official emblem of the state of Tasmania, and there is an extensive campaign underway to help conserve the species.

Answer: Kangaroo

There are several species of kangaroos, classified according to size and location on the continent. Kangaroos eat a predominantly grass based diet. They are known for their powerful jumping action, and can reach speeds of up to 70km an hour. This allows them to cover large areas of ground very quickly.

Koalas are a small marsupial who primarily live in trees (as do possums) while the platypus is a semi aquatic mammal.

Answer: They are square or cubed

The wombat has a uniquely shaped stool. Like most animals, they use their scat to mark territory. The cube/square shape of their stool means that it does not roll off surfaces like a rounded pellet would. The wombat has featured on both Australian stamps and coins, and 'Fatso' was a regular guest on the long-running Australian TV series, 'A Country Practice'.