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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).
They are primarily found in South America, though some are found in Central America and Mexico and one, the Virginia opossum, ranges into the United States and Canada. They have a variety of sizes, shapes, and fur patterns, and range in size from the 6 cm (2 in) (plus 9 cm (4 in) tail) Kalinowski's mouse opossum to the 55 cm (22 in) (plus 54 cm ...
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 13–37 inches (35–94 cm ) long from their snout to the base of the tail, with the tail adding another 8.5–19 inches (21.6–47 cm ).
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 ...
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., recently welcomed a one-eyed opossum named Basil, who was rescued after being attacked and is now an ambassador for his species at the zoo.
The Virginia opossum is the only species found in the United States and Canada. It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum [3] (/ ˈ p ɒ s əm /; sometimes rendered as ' possum in written form to indicate the dropped "o").
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Some sources call this subfamily the "American opossums", [2] [6] while others use that term for the whole family of opossums, Didelphidae. [1] The term may be redundant, though, since all opossums are native to the Americas, while their distant Australian taxonomic relatives, in the suborder Phalangeriformes are referred to as possums in ...