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The mammals of Australia have a rich fossil history, as well as a variety of extant mammalian species, dominated by the marsupials, but also including monotremes and placentals. The marsupials evolved to fill specific ecological niches, and in many cases they are physically similar to the placental mammals in Eurasia and North America that occupy similar niches, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution.[1] For example, the top mammalian predators in Australia, the Tasmanian tiger and the marsupial lion, bore a striking resemblance to large canids such as the gray wolf and large cats respectively; gliding possums and flying squirrels have similar adaptations enabling their arboreal lifestyle; and the numbat and anteaters are both digging insectivores. Most of Australia's mammals are herbivores or omnivores.
- ^ Townsend, Colin R.; Begon, Michael; Harper, John L. (2002), "Chapter 2. Ecology's Evolutionary Backdrop", Essentials of Ecology (eBook) (2nd ed.), Blackwell Publishers, sec. 2.7 Interpreting the results of evolution, ISBN 1405103280, OCLC 49285566