Select the correct group/set of Australian Marsupials exhibiting adaptive radiation.
Answer: (B) Numbat, Spotted cuscus, Flying phalanger. Answer: (B) Numbat, Spotted cuscus, Flying phalanger.
- A.Tasmanian wolf, Bobcat, Marsupial mole
- B.Numbat, Spotted cuscus, Flying phalanger✓
- C.Mole, Flying squirrel, Tasmanian tiger cat
- D.Lemur, Anteater, Wolf
Correct Answer
(B) Numbat, Spotted cuscus, Flying phalanger
Solution & Explanation
Answer: (B) Numbat, Spotted cuscus, Flying phalanger. Australian marsupials are the textbook example of adaptive radiation, where a number of marsupials each different from the other evolved from a single ancestral stock within the Australian island continent. Only option (b) lists three genuine Australian marsupials; the other options mix in placental mammals (Bobcat, Mole, Flying squirrel, Lemur, Wolf) or non-Australian forms. NCERT Reference: Ch 6 Evolution, p.117, lines 10–12: "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."