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The Virginia opossum is the original animal named "opossum", a word which comes from Algonquian wapathemwa, meaning "white animal". Colloquially, the Virginia opossum is frequently just called a "possum". [8] The term is applied more generally to any of the other marsupials of the families Didelphidae and Caenolestidae.
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").
The order Didelphimorphia consists of one family, Didelphidae, which is divided into the subfamilies Caluromyinae, Glironiinae, Hyladelphinae, and Didelphinae.Caluromyinae contains 4 species in 2 genera, Glironiinae and Hyladelphinae each contain a single species, and Didelphinae contains 87 species in 14 genera, as well as the extinct red-bellied gracile opossum, which was last seen in 1962.
Opossums are an ancient species, and eat all manner of bugs, vermin and rotting vegetables. Meet the opossum, nature's friendly sanitation worker Skip to main content
The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, it is a successful opportunist and is found throughout North America from coast to coast (introduced to California in 1910), and from Central America and Mexico to southern Canada .
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.
“This Virginia opossum was admitted today after reportedly devouring an ENTIRE Costco chocolate cake.” In the post are two photos that paint a vivid picture. In one, a note written by an ...
Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial/opossum species in New York. Virginia opossum. Family Didelphidae (American opossums) Subfamily: Didelphinae. Genus: Didelphis. Virginia opossum, D. virginiana LC