Back in the old days, yes, they used to have these neat charts which showed Marsupials at the bottom, and us Humans at the top. This is sooooo outdated.
Look, yes, in many cases a marsupial will be pushed out of it’s niche by a placental mammal, but in many cases if you have a insular population, many species will be pushed out by more competive outside species.
In many niches the marsupial does extremely well- witness the Opossum.
So, there’s no “inferior”. It’s whatever does best in that niche.
Still in denial, aren’t you? Doing best in niche? What niche does not the marsupials occupy that cannot be filled by placentals? On the other hand, there are so many niches that placentals fill that cannot be filled by marsupials.
Did marsupials develop their own fully-aquatic animals, comparable to the whales and dolphins?
how about a little less aquatic, comparable to seals, sea lions, walruses etc.?
now how about semi-aquatic, comparable to otters, capybaras, beavers?
how about flying ones comparable to the placental bats?
how about large-sized species truly adapted to deserts, such as camels, gemsbok, addax?
There is no doubt that species are to fill the niches, however, which niches that marsupials can fill but placentals cannot? Name one.
It’s like real life. Burger flippers can be good at their niches, are they not? But a middle-class worker can also be made to do such job and be good at it after some time, but a burger flipper would be unable to do the middle-class job as well as that worker. That’s why a burger flipper earns minimum wage.
Have you taken a university level biology course? If you did and were paying attention, you might have noticed that there is no actual race to the top, it is all about survival and in the process weird things happen, how about the duck billed platypus and manatees? It is quite possible that placental mammals are an evolutionary dead end and the next apex predator will be a marsupial. I would like to point out that opossums have opposable thumbs, give them a few million years.
Trust me, I know way about evolution than you do. You seem to think a race must have a top, that is totally false, evolution does not have a top but this does not mean there is no competition. Race in this sense, simply means competition, and marsupials simply suck at it, I’ve shown countless evidence in this thread.
Opossums have opposable thumbs, ok, but so does the monkeys, great apes and the lesser apes, giant panda from the bear family, and red pandas. Humans have that too. So what the heck is your point? You think giving them a million years, opposum would suddenly evolve into another highly-intelligent species like human? You are the one without any basic biology knowledge or you simply lack the intelligence to apply it properly.
Manatees are not primitive, they are related to elephants and they are placentals. Platypus survived because of lack of competition, import the placental semi-aquatic animals into Australia such as capybara, otters, beavers etc. the platypus would suddenly be full of troubles.
Your fantasy about placental being the dead end and marsupials will be the next apex predator is so laughable. Funny how you claim to be so informed about biology yet loves making such moronic claims. Read post #40 again, it explains why marsupial carnivores are inferior, from locomotion limitation to adaptibility etc.
I suppose there is some extrapolation about the critters that can be made based on what was in Australiachunk and SouthAmericachunk, but what actual fossils have been found there? And where were they found?
And griffon, dude, you seem a bit hostile for a mythological placental. Or are you an ovip? Or a monotreme?
I think a Marsupial ate his baby, seriously now evolution is a bit like mutual funds, past performance is no indicator of future performance. Placental Mammals rule the roost now, that all could change tomorrow ask a dinosaur.
Griffon, Kangaroo’s and wallabies of all kinds are thriving in very large populations all through central Australia even thought we have introduced Rabbits, Goats and Pigs now competing with them.
Kangaroo’s are better adapted to surviving drought and flood cycles than non-native mammal herbivores, do some reading.
Do some reading? How about you stop flaunting your ignorance.
Introduce numerous African bovid species, along with the carnivores, and soon the roos will be critically endangered.
The fact is, the roos are thriving because of lack of competition, European rabbit (the only rabbit species in Australia), pigs and goats are ill-adapted to central australia, and they are not direct competitor elsewhere either. European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are from Europe where the climate is temperate and of plentiful rainfall, moreover because of their small sizes they do not compete with roos directly, who are able to eat tougher grasses. It’s already a wonder how this species which is ill-adapted to semi-arid to arid climate is able to wreck havoc on the eco-system in Australia. Australia has only one pig species, and that is the pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), and it is ill-adpated to semi-arid to arid plains, warthogs are the only species from pig family adapted to plains, but Australia has none. Goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) are originally from rocky terrain and they are browsers, not grazers, and arid to semi-arid climate is not suitable for them either.
And be noted these are only three species total. A tiny representation of their related placentals. Rabbit’s relative, jackrabbit for instance, are way more adapted to Australia due to their tolerance of arid climate but they are banned here. Warhogs are banned. Same with the goat’s relatives such as argali, ibex etc. and also notice all of these three imported were in their domesticated form, already losing a lot of potential, yet still able to devastate the Australian eco-system.
If Australia is to import wild bovids such as the antelopes (e…g Thompson’s gazell, addax, gemsbok, dorca’s gazell, impala, spingbok, wildebeest), and bovids from the Bovidae family including the african water buffolo, nilgil, eland, bongo etc. and carnivores such as cheetahs, leopard, and even lions, the marsupials on plains would be totally devastated.
And to eliminate the forest-dwelling marsupial population you just need clouded leopard, margay (both excellment tree-dweller, the tree kangaroos and koalas would be so XXed !!! ), and various placental forest dwellers to ensure a constant food supply for them as the marsupials would be getting decimated.
Leaving aside the possibility that the burger flipper might have been discriminated against during hiring or education, or that the middle-class worker’s dad got him the job, are you asserting that evolution is “like” real life? Heh.
), and various placental forest dwellers to ensure a constant food supply for them as the marsupials would be getting decimated.