From: atovorni@engr.UVic.CA (dreas)
Subject: Re: ISO MY PRINCESS
Reply-To: atovorni@engr.UVic.CA
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 21:36:47 GMT

In article Cwn@access.digex.com, huston@access.digex.com (Herb Huston) writes:
>In article <1992Nov22.035448.6142@sol.UVic.CA> atovorni@engr.UVic.CA writes:
>>In article Iy8@access.digex.com, huston@access.digex.com (Herb Huston) writes:
>>>In article <1992Nov20.002845.20217@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> cjp8b@dayhoff.med.Virginia.EDU (Chris Penington) writes:
>>>>Are eu therious? Marsupials don't even make it into the placentile
>>>>rankings. They've adapted to a different set of test conditions and
>>>>fail marsupially (and monotremously) in competition with many
>>>>placentals. Theriously!
>>>
>>>Virginia oppossums beg to differ with you, sir!  Not only did their South
>>>American relatives survive the invasion of North American placentals, but they
>>>successfully invaded the placental stronghold.  (And the crawlspace underneath
>>>the parental abode in Florida.)
>
>Opossums are marsupials.  (Sorry about the earlier misspelling.)
>
>>>>                        Cats and rats are major problems for
>>>>Australia's native fauna.
>>>
>>>As they are for New Zealand's non-marsupial, native fauna.  Living on an
>>>island, even one the size of a continent, is not conducive to developing
>>>effective defense strategies.  But how, sir, did those placentals swim to
>>>either Australia or New Zealand?
>>
>>In order to answer this I have to relate back to my studies of Plate Tectonics.
>>Australia was once connected to the rest of the world by land. Did you ever hear
>>of Pangea? The pangean continent broke apart and Australia drifted away from the
>>rest of the world before the evolution of placentals. Placentals evolved in the 
>>rest of the world while Australia was not connected to it by land.
>
>Australia was connected to Antartica and South America and has been drifting
>toward Asia.  It has not yet collided.  How did cats and rats reach Australia?
>To help you out, I'll tell you that when Europeans arrived, the only placental
>mammals in Australia were the aborgines, the dingos, and bats (rather obvious
>how the bats got there).
>
>>Marsupials were overrun by placentals in the rest of the world because placentals 
>>were better equipped to compete for food & survival.
>
>This is not true.  South America's marsupials were already in decline when
>the Isthmus of Panama formed, but there are still plenty of marsupials in
>South America, and many South American marsupials successfully invaded North
>America.
>
>>                                                     Cats, rats & rabbits are
>>doing to Australia's marsupial population today what placentals did to marsupials
>>in the rest of the world a long time ago.
>
>But how did the cats, rats, and rabbits swim to Australia?

They came on ships with the Europeans. Rats infested sailing vessels back in the 
days when Botany Bay was founded. Cats were on the ships to help control the rat
population. Rabbits were imported when Australian hunters wanted to hunt familiar
European game. I believe foxes were imported for the same purpose...
 
>>Guess my geology degree is good for something after all...
>
>Your geology is quite sound, but this is also a question of zoology.

I hope I'm not pretending to know everything. ;+)
 
>Marsupials are not second-class mammals.
 
Never claimed that they were. Just twisted a few facts inadvertently.
Thanks for clearing THAT up.

dreas

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