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The
Peramelemorphia order is composed of 2 families, 8 Recent
genera and 22 species. They are distributed throughout
Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea in all major habitats.
The fossil history is middle Miocene to Recent in Australasia.
The
second and third digits on the hind foot of Peramelemorphia
are bound together by integument making the two toes
function as one. This arrangement is believed to be
useful for grooming purposes. The first toe on the hind
foot is not well developed and in Macrotis and
Chaeropus the toe is absent.
Peramelemorphia
are alert and very active, moving about in a quick galloping
manner. They are nocturnal and terrestrial. The species
in this order have an extremely high rate of reproduction
with very early sexual maturity and the shortest gestation
period of all mammals. Pouch time is very short and
the young receive minimal parental care. The pouch of
Peramelomorphia opens downward and the young crawl to
it using well developed claws that are later shed.
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