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A newly photographed newborn marsupial, weighing less than a grain of rice, is seen crawling towards its mother’s pouch for the first time. This remarkable observation highlights the unique gestation and development process of marsupials.

Unlike placental mammals, which give birth to more developed young, marsupials experience a brief gestation period before their young must navigate to the mother’s pouch to continue their growth.

According to Brandon Menzies from the University of Melbourne, this remarkable process remains largely unknown for many of Australia’s rare marsupials, even for those in captivity. Menzies and his team care for several hundred fat-tailed dunnarts (Smithopsis crassicaudata) and aim to work with Colossal Biosciences to potentially resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger.

Despite establishing the colony decades ago and monitoring female fertility closely, the exact details of how marsupials give birth and the young’s attachment to the teats have never been documented before now.

Menzies explained that this phenomenon is difficult to observe due to the lack of pregnancy tests for this species, their nocturnal habits, and the fact that births occur at night. During a 12 to 24-hour period, a swarm of newborns is born, taking just 30 minutes to reach the pouch.

In 2024, researchers noted blood in an enclosure. An examination revealed tiny newborns, just 5 milligrams each, making their way towards their mother’s pouch.

“We observed the pouch waving, crawling, and wriggling,” Menzies stated. “It’s a freestyle swim type of crawl, similar to a commando crawl.”

Realizing this was a groundbreaking moment, Menzies captured 22 seconds of footage before carefully returning the mother to her enclosure. The team believes gravity plays a crucial role in guiding the young towards the pouch.

Researchers estimate the newborns achieved around 120 movements per minute while crawling.

Reaching the nipple is just the first challenge. Many marsupials, including fat-tailed dunnarts, produce more offspring than nipples available for nursing. While they can carry up to 17 pups, they can only care for 10, contrasting with the Tasmanian devil that has the capacity to produce 30 pups with just four nipples.

Menzies expressed amazement at how fat-tailed dunnarts can give birth to such mobile pups merely 14 days after conception. It was previously believed these tiny babies couldn’t independently enter the pouch without maternal assistance.

“The ability to crawl independently into the pouch underscores the remarkable developmental capabilities of this species,” he remarked. “Just a week ago, these were fertilized eggs consisting of mere cells.”

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