Identify the Australian marsupials showing adaptive radiation.
(A) Sugar Glider
(B) Wolf
(C) Bandicoot
(D) Wombat
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (C), (D) Only
(A) Sugar Glider — True.
(B) Wolf — False. The wolf is a placental mammal; the marsupial is the Tasmanian wolf.
(C) Bandicoot — True.
(D) Wombat — True.
NCERT Extract:
What Is Adaptive Radiation? – “… From the original seed-eating features, many other forms with altered beaks arose, enabling them to become insectivorous and vegetarian finches (Figure 6.5). This process of evolution of different species in a given geographical area starting from a point and literally radiating to other areas of geography (habitats) is called adaptive radiation. Darwin’s finches represent one of the best examples of this phenomenon. Another example is Australian marsupials. A number of marsupials, each different from the other (Figure 6.6) evolved from an ancestral stock, but all within the Australian island continent.”
