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how Darwin explained the abundance of marsupials in Australia that were ecologically equivalent to placental mammals...

how Darwin explained the abundance of marsupials in Australia that were ecologically equivalent to placental mammals elsewhere?

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Expert Solution

According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, australian marsupial is an example of parallel radiation. Parallel evolution is the development of a similar trait in related, but distinct, species descending from the same ancestor, but from different clades .One of the most common examples of parallel evolution is the placentals and marsupials, In South America, marsupials and placentals shared the ecosystem ,in Australia, marsupials prevailed;. In all these localities mammals were small and filled only limited places in the ecosystem. At this time, mammals on all three landmasses began to take on a much wider variety of forms and roles. While some forms were unique to each environment, surprisingly similar animals have often emerged in two or three of the separated continents.

Australian marsupials evolved due to convergent evolution. It is a process by which organisms evolve independently but with similar traits due to similar environment. Placental mammals and marsupials exhibits the same ecological characters in different parts of the world which got separated during continental drift.

 
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