Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Opossums do possess a placenta, [31] but it is short-lived, simple in structure, and, unlike that of placental mammals, not fully functional. [32] The young are therefore born at a very early stage, although the gestation period is similar to that of many other small marsupials, at only 12 to 14 days. [ 33 ]
They also have hairless ears and a long, flat nose. Opossums have 50 teeth, more than any other North American land mammal, [14] and opposable, clawless thumbs on their rear limbs. Opossums have 13 nipples, arranged in a circle of 12 with one in the middle. [15] [16] The dental formula of an opossum is 5.1.3.4 4.1.3.4. [17]
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]
Gray short-tailed opossums are relatively small animals, with a superficial resemblance to voles.In the wild they have head-body length of 12 to 18 cm (4.7 to 7.1 in) and weigh 58 to 95 grams (2.0 to 3.4 oz); males are larger than females. [5]
The species are commonly known as possums, opossums, [3] gliders, and cuscus. The common name "(o)possum" for various Phalangeriformes species derives from the creatures' resemblance to the opossums of the Americas (the term comes from Powhatan language aposoum "white animal", from Proto-Algonquian * wa·p-aʔɬemwa "white dog"). [ 4 ]
The common ringtail possum weighs between 550 and 1,100 g (19 and 39 oz) and is approximately 30–35 cm (12–14 in) cm long when grown (excluding the tail, which is roughly the same length again). It has grey or black fur with white patches behind the eyes and usually a cream-coloured belly.
The brushtail possums' caecum lacks internal ridges and cannot separate coarse and fine particles as efficiently as some other arboreal marsupials. [16] The brushtail possum cannot rely on Eucalyptus alone to provide sufficient protein. [19] Its more generalised and mixed diet, however, does provide adequate nitrogen. [20]
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 ...