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As marsupials, female opossums have a reproductive system that includes a bifurcated vagina and a divided uterus; many have a pouch. [29] The average estrous cycle of the Virginia opossum is about 28 days. [30] Opossums do possess a placenta, [31] but it is short-lived, simple in structure, and, unlike that of placental mammals, not fully ...
Extant marsupials encompass many species, including kangaroos, koalas, opossums, possums, Tasmanian devils, wombats, wallabies, and bandicoots. Marsupials constitute a clade stemming from the last common ancestor of extant Metatheria , which encompasses all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals .
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]
Phalangeriformes / f ə ˈ l æ n dʒ ər ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / is a paraphyletic [1] suborder of about 70 species of small to medium-sized arboreal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi. [2] The species are commonly known as possums, opossums, [3] gliders, and cuscus.
The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (/ ˈ j æ p ɒ k /), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. [3] It is the only monotypic species of its genus , Chironectes . [ 4 ]
The big lutrine opossum (Lutreolina crassicaudata), [2] also called little water opossum, thick-tailed opossum and coligrueso, is a long-tailed, otter-like mammal native to grasslands of South America. It generally lives near water and is active at night, dawn or dusk.
The gray four-eyed opossum has an omnivorous diet containing fruits, nectar, insects, small mammals (such as mice), birds, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, snails, and earthworms. [6] Its diet varies depending on the season. [6] With such a varied diet, the gray four-eyed opossum will both encounter and eat venomous snakes.
Native predators include quolls, snakes, and owls, although in modern times, the animal also falls prey to introduced carnivores such as red foxes and domestic cats. [8] Western pygmy possums have the ability to enter torpor during inclement or cold weather, enabling them to conserve energy and food reserves. During bouts of torpor, which may ...