Kangaroos are the most famous of the pouched marsupial mammals. Here, a kangaroo joey peers out from its mother's pouch. Marsupials give birth to underdeveloped young and then nourish them in pouches for up to a year.
A koala holds her sleeping joey. These adorable herbivores subsist on a diet of eucalyptus, spending hours a day eating. Time not spent snacking is usually passed by snoozing, owing to koalas' very low metabolic rate.
Baby koala at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
Once the largest carnivorous marsupial in Australia and Tasmania, the Tasmanian tiger went the way of the dodo in 1936. Environmental pressure and hunting killed off Tasmanian tigers, also known as thylacines. The last died in a zoo in 1936, only months after the Tasmanian government extended protection to the species.
The Tasmanian Devil is the closest relative to the now-extinct Tasmanian tiger. Devils are dog-sized predators known for their pungent odor.
Watch out for the teeth! Tasmanian devils have strong jaws and necks, making them one of the best biters in the animal kingdom.
A pair of kangaroos cavort.
A pet ring tailed possum examines department of information movie camera somewhere in north Australia and assumes the operators' stance in this 1943 photo.
Speaking of World War II and marsupials, here's a 1942 photograph of an American GI with his pet kangaroo on an allied air base.
The Bilby, a rabbit-sized marsupial, is endangered. To raise awareness and support for conservation, some Australians have recreated the Easter Bunny myth, claiming that in Australia, rabbits don't deliver candy — bilbies do!
Wallabies are smaller than their kangaroo cousins.
Not known for its cuteness, the opossum is the most familiar marsupial in North America.
Wombats are badger-sized burrowers and the closest living relative to koalas.
This rodent-like critter is a bandicoot, one of several small marsupials native to Australia.
Joining the bandicoot in the ranks of strangely-named marsupials is the quoll. These cat-sized creatures prey on other small mammals, including rabbits and opossums.
The smallest of the kangaroo-wallaby family are the pademelons, distinguishable by their diminutive size and nearly hairless tails. They live in mainly coastal areas in Australia.
