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The distribution of play behaviour among Australian marsupials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 1999

John A. Byers
John A. Byers
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-3051, U.S.A.
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Abstract

The distribution of play behaviour among the Australian marsupial families was surveyed. The rate of play in each species observed was categorized on a three-point scale: 1 – no play observed or reported; 2 – play rudimentary; 3 – play common. Common play occurred in the larger-bodied Dasyuridae, in Myrmecobiius, in Vombatidae, and in all Macropodoidea. In all other marsupials, play was rudimentary or absent. Categorical rate of play was not correlated with body mass or with metabolic rate but was correlated with relative brain mass. The distribution of play in Australian marsupials supported the hypothesis that play acts to modify brain development.

Keywords

playmarsupialsbrain sizemetabolic rate
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 247 , Issue 3 , March 1999 , pp. 349 - 356
Copyright
© 1999 The Zoological Society of London

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