Measurements of the ultrastructural characteristics of AJs (A, B) and a comparison of the width of intercellular space in the AJs’ and SJs’ region (C), graphically demonstrated by box-and-whiskers plots. Individual measurements are represented with dots and the numbers below the box-plots represent the number of measurements. The following stages were included in the analysis: mid-stage embryos S13 (S13), late-stage embryos S16 (S16), early-stage marsupial mancae (EMM), mid-stage marsupial mancae (MMM), late-stage marsupial mancae (LMM), postmarsupial mancae 3 days (PMM3) and 14 days (PMM14) after release from marsupium and adults A, B the letters above box-plots indicate significant differences (Mann-Whitney, p < 0.05) between developmental stages C two sample Mann-Whitney tests were performed to determine statistically significant differences in the width of the AJs’ and SJs’ intercellular spaces of each developmental stage: p < 0.01 (*), p < 0.001 (**). Abbreviations: AJ: adherens junction; AM: apical membrane; SJ: septate junction.