Which placental feature, unusual for marsupials, aids the bandicoot's short gestation?

Answer

Development of a small chorioallantoic placenta.

Bandicoots exhibit a peculiarity among marsupials by developing a small chorioallantoic placenta in addition to the standard marsupial choriovitelline placenta. The presence of the chorioallantoic structure, which is more commonly associated with placental mammals, facilitates a brief but crucial uterine connection. This brief period of development inside the mother allows for an extremely short gestation period, often cited as only around 12 days, which is among the shortest recorded for any mammal. Following this minimal gestation, the underdeveloped young must immediately crawl to the mother's rear-opening pouch to continue their development, nursing on a teat for approximately the next 50 days.

Which placental feature, unusual for marsupials, aids the bandicoot's short gestation?

#Videos

What Are The Unique Features Of Bandicoots?

mammalmarsupialFeatureBandicoot