Marsupial Mole - Classification

Classification

There are thought to be two species: the Southern Marsupial Mole (Notoryctes typhlops) or itjaritjari as known by the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people in Central Australia, and the Northern Marsupial Mole (Notoryctes caurinus), so similar to one another that they cannot be reliably told apart in the field.

The marsupial mole, once classified as a monotreme, is now known to be a marsupial. Its ancestry goes back 50 million years or more, and its precise classification is still a matter for argument.