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Marsupial moles, from the genus Notoryctes (; from Ancient Greek ( nótos), meaning "south", and ( oruktḗs), meaning "digger") are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found in the Australian interior.Warburton N. Functional morphology and evolution of marsupial moles (Marsupialia: Notoryctemorphia). 2003. PhD Dissertation, University of Western Australia. They are small fossorial marsupials that anatomically converge on fossorial placental mammals, such as extant (Chrysochloridae) and extinct Epoicotheriidae. The species are:
Marsupial moles spend most of their time Fossorial, coming to the surface only occasionally, probably mostly after rains. They are functionally Blindness, their eyes having become reduced to vestigial lenses under the skin that lack a pupil. They have no external ears, just a pair of tiny holes hidden under thick hair. The head is cone-shaped, with a leathery shield over the muzzle, the body is tubular, and the tail is a short, bald stub encased in leathery skin. They are between long, weigh , and are uniformly covered in fairly short, very fine pale cream to white hair with an iridescent golden sheen. Their pouch is small but well developed and has evolved to face backwards so it does not fill with sand. It contains just two , so the animal cannot support more than two young at a time. They are the only marsupials with a true cloaca.
The limbs are very short, with reduced digits. The forefeet have two greatly enlarged, spade shaped, flat claws on the third and fourth digits, which are used to excavate soil in front of the animal. The hindfeet are flattened, and bear three small claws; these feet are used to push soil behind the animal as it digs. are present but small and as in some other fossorial mammals (e.g., ), the last five cervical are fused, giving the head greater rigidity during digging. The animal swims through the soil and does not leave behind a permanent burrow.
The teeth of the marsupial moles are degenerate and bear no resemblance to polyprotodont or diprotodont teeth. Their dental formula varies, but is usually somewhere near . The upper molar teeth are triangular and zalambdodont, i.e., resembling an inverted Greek letter lambda in occlusal view, and the lower molars appear to have lost their talonid basins. Marsupial moles are the only marsupials that are Testicondy.
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