Marsupialian.
/mɑːˌs(j)uːpɪˈeɪlɪə/, U.S. /mɑrˌsupiˈeɪliə/ Zoology.
With plural agreement. An order of mammals comprising forms which lack a complete placenta and give birth to very immature young which complete their development while attached to the mother's mammae, typically located in a protective abdominal pouch.The order is often placed as the sole extant group in the infraclass Metatheria, and includes kangaroos, opossums, and a range of variously adapted species which are mainly restricted to Australia and New Guinea. By some recent authors, each of the main marsupial groups is treated as equivalent to an order, Marsupialia being termed a cohort.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun]
Marsupialia1834
Metatheria1880
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 224 The Marsupialia..are parallel to the other unguiculated Mammalia.
1845 R. Chambers Vestiges Nat. Hist. Creation (ed. 3) 150 Marsupialia, acknowledgedly low forms in their class.
1870 W. H. Flower Introd. Osteol. Mammalia iii. 25 The Caudal Vertebrae are..numerous and powerfully developed..in many mammals, especially among the Edentata, Cetacea, and Marsupialia.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 668/1 In most of the Marsupialia the stomach is relatively simple.
1975 Nature 26 June 698/1 Marsupial bones..occur in Marsupialia..and have also been found in Cretaceous Multituberculata.
1998 Science 1 May 675/3 Marsupialia..are pegged as originating 173 million years ago.
Derivatives
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the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [adjective]
marsupial1807
pouched1810
marsupiate1834
marsupian1835
didelphine1847
marsupialian1848
purse-bearing1859
didelphous1873
metatherian1880
1848 S. Maunder Treasury Nat. Hist. Gloss. 793/2 Marsupialian, belonging to the class Marsupialia.
1890 Cent. Dict. Marsupialian, a. and n.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1834