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Many marsupials share some DNA since they evolved from a common ancestor.  Most marsupials are found in Australia.  Some are found in North America, like the opossum due to genetic drift.  Examples of how they share some of the same DNA are the traits they have in common such as females having pouches.  Most marsupials also have grey fur and long tails.

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Grey kangaroos have 16 chromosomes (8 pairs), except for red kangaroos, who have 20 chromosomes (10 pairs).  Koalas have 16 chromosomes and opossums have 22 chromosomes (11 pairs).  The grey kangaroo and koala are related because they both have the same number of chromosomes and they both have the same fur color.  Their karyotypes are different from a human's karyotype because they have a different number of chromosomes.  However, they are similar to a human karyotype because marsupials and humans have one pair of sex chromosomes

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One of Darwin's theories of evolution is Natural Selection.  Natural Selection means that the organisms that adapt better to their environment survive and reproduce more than organisms that aren't well adapted to their environment.  Natural Selection helps bring about evolution.  Another one of Darwin's theories of evolution is descent with modification, this means that the traits the present-day marsupials have are passed down from generation to generation.  Both of these theories are present in modern marsupials. Sthenurine kangaroos went extinct because they did not have the trait to hop away from predators.  Instead, all they could do was walk and thus did not survive faster predators.

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Anatomy:

Marsupials have skulls that are small and tight

Marsupials have 40 to 50 teeth

Female marsupials have a pouch where the offspring continue to develop after being born

Physiology:

Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, which have a poison.  The digestive system of a koala is able to detoxify the poison carried in the leaves.  There are over 600 types of eucalyptus trees in Australia, but koalas eat leaves from only a few.  Most koalas eat leaves from only one or two types of trees.

Opossums are omnivores. Their main diet features insects, rodents, and garbage

Kangaroos are herbivores. Their main diet consists of grass, flowers, mosses, and leaves

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Kangaroo Development:

A Kangaroo's gestational period is short and lasts about 26 days

The limb development for baby kangaroos is a long, ongoing process

A baby kangaroo's immune system, thermoregulation, and thyroid develop after birth

Koala Development:

Male koalas mature at 3 years old, while females mature at 2 to 3 years old

Baby koalas usually stay in their mother's pouch for 6 months

When the baby koalas come out of their mother's pouch, they begin to explore

A Koala joey weighs 1 gram when it is born

Opossum Development:

The young are basically embryos at birth

After they are born, they use a swimming motion up to the mother's teat to latch on to it

Like other marsupials, the young must be born early in their development

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Common name: Koala Bear

Location & habitat:  Most koalas do not live in rainforests or deserts, they live in low eucalypt forests in eastern Australia
Physical characteristics (internal & external):

They have thick fur to protect them from high or low temperatures

They are warm blooded

They have grey fur and an appearance similar to a teddy bear

Behavioral characteristics:

They sleep for up to 16 hours a day in trees, most prefer to be alone

They are great swimmers

They are able to climb from one branch to another quickly

They growl to scare off aggressors

Taxonomy:
Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Mammalia
Order:  Diprotodontia
Family:  Phascolarctidae
Genus:  Phascolarctos
Species:  cinereus

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Speciation:
The type of speciation marsupials have is gradual equilibrium because it took a long time for marsupials to evolve into what they are today

Type of Evolution:
The type of evolution marsupials went through is divergent evolution.  One example of divergent evolution occurring is the koala and the kangaroo because they are both marsupials but have different traits which enable them to survive in their different niches, koalas in trees, and kangaroos on Savannah

Genetic Drift:
Genetic drift occurred in marsupials because the extinct kangaroos had some genes that didn't get passed down on to future generations, as a result of sampling error.  For example, the extinct kangaroos had rabbit-like faces that the present-day kangaroos do not have.  Also genetic drift is more pronounced in small populations; most kangaroos live in groups of 2-4

Geographic Isolation:
Geographic isolation affected marsupials after the breakup of Pangea which started millions of years ago.  The breakup of Pangea resulted in separation of South America, Antarctica, and Australia from each other.  Marsupials had been present in all three continents but thrived in Australia because their life cycle was well suited to Australia's dry climate and poor soil quality. This is because marsupials have a lower metabolic rate than placentals, and marsupials have less need for energy than placentals
In addition, some marsupials that are living in the Americas immigrated across Pangea to present-day North and South America

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Common name: Opossum

Location & habitat: They live in trees of North America and Australia, but the most common location in North America is Virginia
Physical characteristics (internal & external):

They have gray fur and white faces

Females have pouches for their young

Opossums are the only animal in the U.S that have prehensile tails, which means they are able to grasp objects with their tail

They are the only mammals that contain 4 fingers and opposable thumbs on their hind feet

Behavioral characteristics:

They play “dead” to avoid being eaten by other predators

They eat anything they can catch

They usually give birth 2 weeks after they mate

Taxonomy (Virginia Opossum):
Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Mammalia
Order:  Didelphimorphia
Family:  Didelphidae
Genus:  Didelphis
Species:  virginiana

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Common name: Kangaroo

Location & habitat : They are found in the deserts, savannas, and grassy plains of Australia
Physical characteristics (internal & external):

Female kangaroos carry pouches for their young

All kangaroos have strong hind legs with extended feet and short forelegs

They have strong backbones

They are known for their capability to jump long distances

Behavioral characteristics:

They are grazing herbivores, which means their diet consists mainly of grasses

They live in groups of 2-4 kangaroos

They are unique from other marsupials because they are the only large marsupial to use hopping as a way of moving

Taxonomy (Red Kangaroo):
Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Mammalia
Order:  Diprotodontia
Family:  Macropodidae
Genus:  Macropus
Species: rufus

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Some examples of marsupials include: Kangaroos, Koalas, and Opossums.  Some physical characteristics shared by marsupials are:

Females carry their young in pouches

They are nursed until early infancy

They are native to Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Americas

All marsupials contain fur

Marsupials have less energy requirements than placental mammals

Behavioral characteristics:

Most marsupials live in small groups, Most marsupials are not aquatic, They communicate using acoustic signals and they have color patterns that convey information about sex