Marsupials are mammals that carry their young in a pouch attached to their body.
Marsupials have a short-lived placenta that nourishes their young for just a few days before they’re born, the rest of their nutrition coming from the mother’s teats inside the pouch. Instead of the placenta, the mother’s milk nourishes the young and allows it to grow and develop.
Although the word ‘marsupial’ comes from the Latin word ‘marsupium’, which means pouch, not all marsupials have pouches. The pouch is designed to protect the offspring while they suckle on the nipples, however some in some species this is just a fold, not something the young can fit inside for their joey stage of development.
Marsupials have an extra pubic bone, the epipubic bone, to support their pouch.
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