'''Marsupials''' are mammals having a pouch (known as the marsupium, from which the name 'Marsupial' derives) in females. The pouch is used to rear its young.
There are about 334 species of marsupials, over 200 of them native to [[Australia ]] and nearby islands to the north. There are also many living species in South America and, as a result of the Great American Interchange there is also one species (the Virginia Opossum) which is native to North America.
Examples of marsupials include [[kangaroo]]s, wallabies, [[wombats]], [[koala]]s, possums, opposums and tasmanian devils.