Family of the Week: The Marsupial Monkeys

Back again with a new family of the week. This week it's the marsupial monkeys, the Thylapithecidae. Though this family was originally thought up by Dixon, I've taken them and tweaked them around a little. There are only 2 varieties in this family. There is Thylopithecus and Carnophilus. Though I have pretty much kept Thylopithecus much the same as presented in After Man, with a few minor changes, I made Carnophilus quite different. I made it more like a marsupial baboon type creature. Though it is the largest member of this family, and the more carnivorous species, it is alot like it's closest kin. It lives in trees and has a long, prehensile tail. But the head is very doglike, naked and the teeth are long and sharp. Much like a modern baboon. The eyes are wider apart than in true monkeys, and used mostly to spot prey and pounce with accuracy.

Though they resemble monkeys, they are actually descendants of the possum, like the brushtail possum. Though Carnophilus is a true predator, Thylopithecus is more of a scavenger. They prefer to have their prey prekilled by some unfortunate force, whether it be by another predator, or a fall out of a tree, or natural disaster. All species have the long, prehensile tail. The face and ears are nude, the palms and soles are nude, as is the end of the tail for grasping. The ears are large and pointed, the fingers are tipped with sharp, powerful claws, as are the toes, the fur is soft and thick, the eyes are rather large, and they can move surprisingly fast through the trees. The jaws are powerful enough to crush bone. They can often take prey as large as themselves. Carnophilus is famous for feeding on the marsupial sloth. They tend to sneak up on the animal as it is clinging, or sleeping on a branch. But they can also feed on other possums, pteropods, small reptiles, lemurs and even prey as large as tree wallabies. When on the hunt for prey, Carnophilus prefers to stalk and pounce, but it can chase some prey through the trees. Though fast, agile and alert lemurs like Leptonosoma, can produce a problem when hunting them. As these lemurs can leap as far as 60 feet in one bound. Carnophilus cannot leap that far! So if the lemurs spot the predator, and they usually can, they can outdistance the Carnophilus quite easily. Smaller lemurs are easier to hunt, as is the marsupial sloth, which cannot leap at all.

These animals are normally solitary, and takes up residence in their own trees. Any other individual animal foolish enough to try and steal their tree is met with great hostility, and is fought and can be killed by the resident animal. They are also nocturnal, though sometimes they can be active during the day. Females can have up to 10 youngsters, which are carried in a pouch that opens at the tail end. After 6 weeks, the young go from the pouch to riding on the back. They breed only once a year.

Though these animals are predators themselves, they can be preyed upon by a wide number of predators. Carnophalanger is among their worst enemies. Monitor lizards, predatory bats, snakes and even small cats can prey on young that have been dropped by the mother, or strayed too far. Sometimes predatory pteropods will even take adults. Even within the family, species feed on each other. Carnophilus typically preys on Thylopithecus, if they cross paths. Some carnivorous lemurs, like Bromista, will also feed on these creatures, and can easily persue them in the trees. Though they typically like to take them while they are asleep on a branch or in a tree hollow.

As for the new Metazoic site, it is still being worked on. There are some technical problems that need to be sorted out. Hopefully they will be resolved by tonight, and the new Meet the Mammals section will be up and running by then. I will be putting up some families that I have not yet worked on, like the abbergants, which I know Metalraptor wanted to see really bad. :)