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The gestation period of marsupials is shorter than placental mammals of the same size because the young joeys, while in the uterus, have only a yolk-like placenta to sustain them for a short period of time. They are born, then make their way to the mother's teats, which are usually located within a pouch. There, they attach to a teat which swells in the joey's mouth and provides all the nutrition the joey needs to continue its development. The reason why these animals have such a short gestation period is because the pouch protects them, while the mothers' milk, supplied through the teat to which the joeys remain attached for several months, nurtures them much as the placenta does in placental mammals.

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Q: Why is a marsupial's gestation period so short?
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