Abstract
ALTHOUGH there is general agreement on the sequence of events at birth for several marsupial species1, it is still not known how the newborn joey navigates on its journey from the mother's cloaca to her pouch. Frith and Calaby2 have postulated that, at birth, the red kangaroo (Megaleia rufa) “… has large nostrils and presumably a well developed sense of smell which probably plays a major part in its location of the pouch”. On the other hand, Hartman3 has suggested that the newborn opossum (Didelphis virginiand) was “negatively geotropic” though he has now modified this view considerably4, as histological studies have revealed that the vestibular apparatus of the newborn animal is undirTerentiated and therefore nonfunctional5,6. To investigate whether one of these mechanisms2,4 could account for the behaviour of the newborn quokka (Setonix brachyurus) we have observed parturition in this macropodid marsupial.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Tyndale-Biscoe, H., Life of Marsupials (Edward Arnold, London, 1973).
Frith, H. J., and Calaby, J. H., Kangaroos (Cheshire, Melbourne, 1969).
Hartman, C. G., Anat. Rec., 19, 251 (1920).
Hartman, C. G., Possums, ch. 13 (University of Texas Press, Austin, 1952).
Larsell, O., McCrady, E., Jr, and Zimmermann, A. A., J. comp. Neurol., 63, 95 (1935).
Langworthy, O. R., Am. J. Physiol., 74, 1 (1925); J. comp. Neurol., 46, 201 (1928).
Shield, J. W., and Woolley, P., Nature, 188, 163 (1960).
Tyndale-Biscoe, C. H., thesis, Univ. Western Australia (1961).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CANNON, J., BARKER, H., BRADSHAW, S. et al. Gravity as the sole navigational aid to the newborn quokka. Nature 259, 42 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/259042a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/259042a0
This article is cited by
-
A scanning electron microscopic study of the opossum nasal cavity prior to and shortly after birth
Anatomy and Embryology (1992)
-
Ultrastructural identification of Merkel cells around the mouth of the newborn marsupial
Anatomy and Embryology (1988)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.