The uniformity of growth within the litter of the marsupial, Isoodon macrourus.

The amount of information concerning reproduction in eutherian mammals differs markedly with that available for marsupials. There is at present a good understanding of growth in the eutherian litter after birth but the respective information for litter bearing marsupials has still to be obtained. In this study the growth of the young bandicoot after leaving the pouch was examined. Each of the monitored young, 38 females and 12 males, was weighed weekly and a growth rate estimated for the ages 65 to 105 days. Although these growth rates varied from 3.80 to 9.50 g/days and large variations in growth rate were observed between litters, the findings suggest that development within a pouch, in contrast to uterine development, gives rise to a litter which is more uniform in size.