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| Microbiotheres Temporal range: Early Palaeocene – Recent | |
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| Order: | Microbiotheria Ameghino, 1889 |
| Family: | Microbiotheriidae Ameghino, 1887 |
Microbiotheria are a small order of marsupial mammals with only one living species, the Monito del Monte (Spanish for 'little mountain monkey').
It is the only New World representative of the superorder Australidelphia; all other New World marsupials are part of the Ameridelphia.
The species is nocturnal and arboreal, and lives in thickets of Chilean bamboo in the temperate rain forests of the southern Andes. It eats mainly insects and other small invertebrates, supplemented with fruit.
At one time, they were placed in the order Didelphimorphia, the opossums, but due to many morphological differences, they were placed in another order. The skull's shape is strange, with many technical differences from the opossums. view more...
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