Where Are Marsupials Native? Primarily Australia, Plus the Americas

Marsupials—mammals that carry and nurse their young in a pouch—are overwhelmingly concentrated in Australia and New Guinea, which together host about 70% of the ~330 extant species. Iconic examples include:

• Kangaroos, wallabies, and wallaroos (Macropodidae)
• Koalas (Phascolarctidae)
• Wombats (Vombatidae)
• Tasmanian devils (Dasyuridae)
• Possums, gliders, bandicoots, bilbies, and many more

American Marsupials

The remaining species are found in the Americas, almost entirely in Central and South America, with one notable exception:

• Didelphidae (opossums): ~100 species, mostly Neotropical; the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) ranges into the U.S. and southern Canada.
• Microbiotheria (monito del monte): A single relict species in temperate forests of Chile and Argentina.

Fossil evidence shows marsupials once had a global distribution, but they thrived and diversified in Australia after it split from Gondwana, while placental mammals outcompeted them on other continents.