section_path: Anatomy/General and convergences
section_name: General and convergences
paragraph_text: General and convergences
  
  Marsupials have adapted to many habitats, reflected in the wide variety in their build. The largest living marsupial, the red kangaroo, grows up to 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) in height and 90 kilograms (200 lb) in weight. Extinct genera, such as Diprotodon, were significantly larger and heavier. The smallest marsupials are the marsupial mice, which reach only 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in body length.
  
  Some species resemble placentals and are examples of convergent evolution. This convergence is evident in both brain evolution and behaviour. The extinct thylacine strongly resembled the placental wolf, hence one of its nicknames "Tasmanian wolf". The ability to glide evolved in both marsupials (as with sugar gliders) and some placentals (as with flying squirrels), which developed independently. Other groups such as the kangaroo, however, do not have clear placental counterparts, though they share similarities in lifestyle and ecological niches with ruminants.