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The word opossum is derived from the Powhatan language and was first recorded between 1607 and 1611 by John Smith (as opassom) and William Strachey (as aposoum). [5] Possum was first recorded in 1613.
Virginia opossums can vary considerably in size, with larger specimens found to the north of the opossum's range and smaller specimens in the tropics. They measure 33–55 cm (13–22 in) long from their snout to the base of the tail, with the tail adding another 25–54 cm (9.8–21.3 in).
The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the southern or black-eared opossum [2] or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including Trinidad and Tobago and the Windwards in the Caribbean, [2] where it is called manicou. [3]
The big lutrine opossum ("lutrine" means "otter-like" and "crass" meaning "thick, fat" and "cauda" meaning "tail") is a very peculiar opossum, having a long weasel-like body, short legs, small rounded ears, and dense reddish or yellowish fur. [3] Nocturnal and crepuscular, they generally live in grasslands and savannas near water. They are ...
The largest species, the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), is the only marsupial to be found in North America, north of Mexico. The Virginia opossum has opposable toes on their two back feet. One of the synapomorphies of this genus is the hypertrophied spinous processes of the cervical vertebrae, which also interlock. As a result, this ...
It uses this ability to burrow in the ground. The burrow can be 30 mm in diameter and 40 cm in length. The mouse-opossum then fills the burrow with leaves to create a nest. More commonly it creates nests in trees, especially in abandoned bird nests. When threatened it can become aggressive, opening its mouth and hissing or making a clicking ...
The term "opossum" is used to refer to American species (though "possum" is a common abbreviation), while similar Australian species are properly called "possums". Isolated petrosals of Djarthia murgonensis , Australia's oldest marsupial fossils [ 68 ] Dentition of the herbivorous eastern grey kangaroo, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in ...
Marmosops caucae, the Cauca slender opossum, is a species of opossum from the Marmosops genus endemic to the eastern and western Andes. It is a diminutive species and its coat is 7 to 8 mm (0.28 to 0.31 in) thick. The ventral fur is a dark brown with shades of gray. The species was scientifically described in 1900 by Oldfield Thomas. [2] [3]