Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Ordo: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Subordo: Cynodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohort: Theria
Cohort: Metatheria
Cohort: Marsupialia
Ordo: Didelphimorphia
Familia: Didelphidae
Subfamiliae: Caluromyinae - Didelphinae - Glironiinae - Hyladelphinae
[list of subfamiliae after Voss & Jansa (2009)]
Subfamiliae: Caluromyinae - Didelphinae
Name
Didelphidae Gray, 1821
References
Flores, D.A. 2009: Phylogenetic analyses of postcranial skeletal morphology in didelphid marsupials. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, (320)
Voss, R.S.; Jansa, S.A. 2009: Phylogenetic relationships and classification of didelphid marsupials, an extant radiation of New World metatherian mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, (322)
London Med. Repos., 15: 308.
Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. 2 volumes. 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. Reference page.
Links
Didelphidae in Mammal Species of the World.
Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (Editors) 2005. Mammal Species of the World – A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third edition. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
Vernacular names
suomi: Pussirotat, opossumit
italiano: Didelfidi
日本語: オポッサム科
한국어: 주머니쥐과
svenska: Pungråttor
українська: Опосуми
The opossum (/əˈpɒsəm/) is a marsupial of the order Didelphimorphia (/daɪˌdɛlfɪˈmɔːrfiə/) endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 110+ species in 19 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of the two continents. Their unspecialized biology, flexible diet, and reproductive habits make them successful colonizers and survivors in diverse locations and conditions.
In the United States and Canada, the only species found is the Virginia opossum. It is often simply referred to as an "opossum", and in North America they are commonly referred to as possums[3] (/pɒsəm/; sometimes rendered as 'possums in written form to indicate the dropped "o"). They should not be confused with the Australasian arboreal marsupials of suborder Phalangeriformes that are also called "possums" because of their resemblance to the Didelphimorphia.
Contents
1 Etymology
2 Evolution
3 Characteristics
3.1 Reproduction and life cycle
3.2 Behavior
4 Diet
5 Habitat
6 Hunting and foodways
7 Classification
8 References
9 External links
Etymology
The word "opossum" is borrowed from the Powhatan language and was first recorded between 1607 and 1611 by John Smith (as opassom) and William Strachey (as aposoum).[4] Siebert reconstructs the word phonemically as /a·passem/.[5] "Possum" was first recorded in 1613. Both men encountered the language at the British settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, which Smith helped to found and where Strachey later served as its first secretary.[6] Strachey's notes describe the opossum as a "beast in bigness of a pig and in taste alike," while Smith recorded it "hath an head like a swine ... tail like a rat ... of the bigness of a cat."[6] The Powhatan word ultimately derives from a Proto-Algonquian word (*wa·p-aʔθemwa) meaning "white dog or dog-like beast."[6]
Following the arrival of Europeans in Australia, the term "possum" was borrowed to describe distantly related Australian marsupials of the suborder Phalangeriformes,[7] which are more closely related to other Australian marsupials, such as kangaroos.
They similarly have 'Didelphimorphia', two ("di") wombs ("delphus"), the second being a non-bilateral marsupial womb (nursing-pouch).[8]
Evolution
Opossums are frequently considered to be "living fossils",[9] and as a result are often used to approximate the ancestral therian condition in comparative studies.[9][10] However, this is inaccurate, as the oldest opossum fossils are from the early Miocene (roughly 20 million years old).[11] The last common ancestor of all living opossums approximately dates to the Oligocene-Miocene boundary (only 23 million years ago) and is at most no older than Oligocene in age.[12][13] Many extinct metatherians once considered early opossums, such as Alphadon, Peradectes, Herpetotherium, and Pucadelphys, have since been recognized to have been previously grouped with opossums on the basis of plesiomorphies and are now considered to represent older branches of Metatheria only distantly related to modern opossums.
Opossums were minor components of South American mammal faunas until the late Miocene, when they began to rapidly diversify.[12] Prior to this time the ecological niches presently occupied by opossums were occupied by other groups of metatherians such as paucituberculatans[14] and sparassodonts[13][15][16] Large opossums like Didelphis show a pattern of gradually increasing in size over geologic time as sparassodont diversity declined.[15][16] Several groups of opossums, including Thylophorops, Thylatheridium, Hyperdidelphys, and sparassocynins developed carnivorous adaptations during the late Miocene-Pliocene, prior to the arrival of carnivorans in South America. Most of these groups with the exception of Lutreolina are now extinct.[17]
Characteristics
Skeleton of the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
Didelphimorphs are small to medium-sized marsupials that grow to the size of a house cat. They tend to be semi-arboreal omnivores, although there are many exceptions. Most members of this order have long snouts, a narrow braincase, and a prominent sagittal crest. The dental formula is: 5.1.3.44.1.3.4 × 2 = 50 teeth. By mammalian standards, this is an unusually full jaw. The incisors are very small, the canines large, and the molars are tricuspid.
Didelphimorphs have a plantigrade stance (feet flat on the ground) and the hind feet have an opposable digit with no claw. Like some New World monkeys, opossums have prehensile tails. Like that of all marsupials, the fur consists of awn hair only, and the females have a pouch. The tail and parts of the feet bear scutes. The stomach is simple, with a small cecum.[9] Like most marsupials, the male opossum has a forked penis bearing twin glandes.[18][19][9]
Although all living opossums are essentially opportunistic omnivores, different species vary in the amount of meat and vegetation they include in their diet. Members of the Caluromyinae are essentially frugivorous; whereas the lutrine opossum and Patagonian opossum primarily feed on other animals.[20] The water opossum or yapok (Chironectes minimus) is particularly unusual, as it is the only living semi-aquatic marsupial, using its webbed hindlimbs to dive in search of freshwater mollusks and crayfish.[21] The extinct Thylophorops, the largest known opossum at 4–7 kg, was a macropredator.[22][23][24] Most opossums are scansorial, well-adapted to life in the trees or on the ground, but members of the Caluromyinae and Glironiinae are primarily arboreal, whereas species of Metachirus, Monodelphis, and to a lesser degree Didelphis show adaptations for life on the ground.[25] Metachirus nudicaudatus, found in the upper Amazon basin, consumes fruit seeds, small vertebrate creatures like birds and reptiles and invertebrates like crayfish and snails, but seems to be mainly insectivorous.[26]
An opossum on top of a fence
Reproduction and life cycle
Further information: Marsupial § Reproductive system
As a marsupial, the female opossum has a reproductive system that includes a bifurcated vagina, a divided uterus and a marsupium, which is her pouch.[27] The average estrous cycle of the opossum is about 28 days.[28] Opossums do possess a placenta,[29] but it is short-lived, simple in structure, and, unlike that of placental mammals, not fully functional.[30] 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.[31] They give birth to litters of up to 20 young.[32] Once born, the offspring must find their way into the marsupium to hold on to and nurse from a teat. Baby opossums, like their Australian cousins, are called joeys.[33] Female opossums often give birth to very large numbers of young, most of which fail to attach to a teat, although as many as thirteen young can attach,[34] and therefore survive, depending on species. The young are weaned between 70 and 125 days, when they detach from the teat and leave the pouch. The opossum lifespan is unusually short for a mammal of its size, usually only one to two years in the wild and as long as four or more years in captivity. Senescence is rapid.[35]
The species are moderately sexually dimorphic with males usually being slightly larger, much heavier, and having larger canines than females.[34] The largest difference between the opossum and non-marsupial mammals is the bifurcated penis of the male and bifurcated vagina of the female (the source of the term "didelphimorph," from the Greek "didelphys," meaning double-wombed).[36] Opossum spermatozoa exhibit sperm-pairing, forming conjugate pairs in the epididymis. This may ensure that flagella movement can be accurately coordinated for maximal motility. Conjugate pairs dissociate into separate spermatozoa before fertilization.[37]
Behavior
Virginia opossum feigning death, or "playing possum"
Opossums are usually solitary and nomadic, staying in one area as long as food and water are easily available. Some families will group together in ready-made burrows or even under houses. Though they will temporarily occupy abandoned burrows, they do not dig or put much effort into building their own. As nocturnal animals, they favor dark, secure areas. These areas may be below ground or above.[38][39]
Juvenile Virginia opossum hissing defensively
When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. This physiological response is involuntary (like fainting), rather than a conscious act. In the case of baby opossums, however, the brain does not always react this way at the appropriate moment, and therefore they often fail to "play dead" when threatened. When an opossum is "playing possum", the animal's lips are drawn back, the teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth, the eyes close or half-close, and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal glands. The stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away without reaction. The animal will typically regain consciousness after a period of a few minutes to four hours, a process that begins with a slight twitching of the ears.[40]
Some species of opossums have prehensile tails, although dangling by the tail is more common among juveniles. An opossum may also use its tail as a brace and a fifth limb when climbing. The tail is occasionally used as a grip to carry bunches of leaves or bedding materials to the nest.[41] A mother will sometimes carry her young upon her back, where they will cling tightly even when she is climbing or running.
Threatened opossums (especially males) will growl deeply, raising their pitch as the threat becomes more urgent. Males make a clicking "smack" noise out of the side of their mouths as they wander in search of a mate, and females will sometimes repeat the sound in return. When separated or distressed, baby opossums will make a sneezing noise to signal their mother. The mother in return makes a clicking sound and waits for the baby to find her. If threatened, the baby will open its mouth and quietly hiss until the threat is gone.
Diet
Opossums eat dead animals, insects, rodents and birds. They also feed on eggs, frogs, plants, fruits and grain. One source notes their need for high amounts of calcium.[42] To fulfill this need, opossums eat the skeletal remains of rodents and roadkill animals. They will also eat dog food, cat food and human food waste.
Many large opossums (Didelphini) are immune to the venom of rattlesnakes and pit vipers (Crotalinae) and regularly prey upon these snakes.[43] This adaptation seems to be unique to the Didelphini, as their closest relative the brown four-eyed opossum is not immune to snake venom.[44] Similar adaptations are seen in other small predatory mammals such as mongooses and hedgehogs. Didelphin opossums and crotaline vipers have been suggested to be in an evolutionary arms race. Some authors have suggested that this adaptation originally arose as a defense mechanism, allowing a rare reversal of an evolutionary arms race where the former prey has become the predator,[45] whereas others have suggested it arose as a predatory adaptation given that it also occurs in other predatory mammals and does not occur in opossums that do not regularly eat other vertebrates.[14] The fer-de-lance, one of the most venomous snakes in the New World, may have developed its highly potent venom as a means to prey on or a defense mechanism against large opossums.[45]
Opossums are also notable for their ability to clean themselves of ticks, which they then eat. Some estimates suggest they can eliminate up to 5,000 ticks in a season.[46]
Habitat
D. virginiana range, including introductions in the west. Currently these areas are expanding northwards (e.g., into Wisconsin and Minnesota).[47]
Opossums are found in North, Central, and South America. The Virginia opossum lives in regions as far north as Canada and as far south as Central America, while other types of opossums only inhabit countries south of the United States.[48] The Virginia opossum can often be found in wooded areas, though its habitat may vary widely.[49] Opossums are generally found in areas like forest, shrubland, mangrove, rainforest, eucalyptus forest etc.[50][51] Opossums have been found moving towards north in recent years.[52]
Hunting and foodways
The Virginia opossum was once widely hunted and consumed in the United States.[53][54][55][56] Opossum farms have been operated in the United States in the past.[57][58][59] Sweet potatoes were eaten together with the opossum in America's southern area.[60][61] In 1909, a "Possum and 'Taters" banquet was held in Atlanta to honor President-elect William Howard Taft.[62][63] South Carolina cuisine includes opossum,[64] and President Jimmy Carter hunted opossums[65][66] in addition to other small game.[67][68] Raccoon, opossum, partridges, prairie hen, and frogs were among the fare Mark Twain recorded as part of American cookery.[69]
A 'possum joke sign
In Dominica, Grenada, Trinidad, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines the common opossum or manicou is popular and can only be hunted during certain times of the year owing to overhunting.[70] The meat is traditionally prepared by smoking, then stewing. It is light and fine-grained, but the musk glands must be removed as part of preparation. The meat can be used in place of rabbit and chicken in recipes. Historically, hunters in the Caribbean would place a barrel with fresh or rotten fruit to attract opossums that would feed on the fruit or insects.
In northern/central Mexico, opossums are known as "tlacuache" or "tlacuatzin". Their tails are eaten as a folk remedy to improve fertility.[71] In the Yucatán peninsula they are known in the Yucatec Mayan language as "och"[72] and they are not considered part of the regular diet by Mayan people, but still considered edible in times of famine.
Opossum oil (possum grease) is high in essential fatty acids and has been used as a chest rub and a carrier for arthritis remedies given as topical salves.[73][74][75]
Opossum pelts have long been part of the fur trade.
Classification
| Cladogram of living Didelphidae[76] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Classification based on Voss and Jansa (2009)[77]
Family Didelphidae
Genus Sairadelphys
Sairadelphys tocantinensis
Subfamily Glironiinae
Genus Glironia
Bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia venusta)
Subfamily Caluromyinae
Genus Caluromys
Bare-tailed woolly opossum, Caluromys philander
Derby's woolly opossum, Caluromys derbianus
Subgenus Caluromys
Bare-tailed woolly opossum (Caluromys philander)
Subgenus Mallodelphys
Derby's woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus)
Brown-eared woolly opossum (Caluromys lanatus)
Genus Caluromysiops
Black-shouldered opossum (Caluromysiops irrupta)
Subfamily Hyladelphinae
Genus Hyladelphys
Kalinowski's mouse opossum (Hyladelphys kalinowskii)
Subfamily Didelphinae
Tribe Metachirini
Brown four-eyed opossum, Metachirus nudicaudatus
Genus Metachirus
Brown four-eyed opossum (Metachirus nudicaudatus)
Tribe Didelphini
Water opossum, Chironectes minimus
Genus Chironectes
Water opossum or yapok (Chironectes minimus)
Unnamed subgroup
Genus Lutreolina
†Lutreolina biforata[17]
Lutrine or thick-tailed opossum (Lutreolina crassicaudata)
Lutrine opossum, Lutreolina crassicaudata
†Lutreolina materdei[78]
Lutreolina massoia[79]
†Genus Hyperdidelphys
†Hyperdidelphys dimartinoi[17]
†Hyperdidelphys inexpectata[17]
†Hyperdidelphys parvula[17]
†Hyperdidelphys pattersoni[17]
Unnamed subgroup
Genus Didelphis
White-eared opossum, Didelphis albiventris
Big-eared opossum, Didelphis aurita
Common opossum, Didelphis marsupialis
Andean white-eared opossum, Didelphis pernigra
White-eared opossum (Didelphis albiventris)
Big-eared opossum (Didelphis aurita)
Guianan white-eared opossum (Didelphis imperfecta)
Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis)
Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra)
†Didelphis solimoensis[80]
Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
Genus Philander
Gray four-eyed opossum, Philander opossum
Anderson's four-eyed opossum (Philander andersoni)
Deltaic four-eyed opossum (Philander deltae)
Southeastern four-eyed opossum (Philander frenatus)
McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum (Philander mcilhennyi)
Mondolfi's four-eyed opossum (Philander mondolfii)
Olrog's four-eyed opossum (Philander olrogi)
Gray four-eyed opossum (Philander opossum)
†Genus Thylophorops
†Thylophorops chapadmalensis[17]
†Thylophorops lorenzinii[22]
†Thylophorops perplana[17]
Tribe Marmosini
Genus †Hesperocynus
†Hesperocynus dolgopolae
Genus Marmosa
Subgenus Marmosa
Robinson's mouse opossum, Marmosa robinsoni
Heavy-browed mouse opossum (Marmosa andersoni)
Isthmian mouse opossum (Marmosa isthmica)
Rufous mouse opossum (Marmosa lepida)
Mexican mouse opossum (Marmosa mexicana)
Linnaeus's mouse opossum (Marmosa murina)
Quechuan mouse opossum (Marmosa quichua)
Robinson's mouse opossum (Marmosa robinsoni)
Red mouse opossum (Marmosa rubra)
Simon's mouse opossum (Marmosa simonsi)
Tyler's mouse opossum (Marmosa tyleriana)
Marmosa waterhousei
Guajira mouse opossum (Marmosa xerophila)
Zeledon's mouse opossum (Marmosa zeledoni)
Subgenus Micoureus
Tate's woolly mouse opossum, Marmosa paraguayanus
Alston's mouse opossum (Marmosa alstoni)
White-bellied woolly mouse opossum (Marmosa constantiae)
Woolly mouse opossum (Marmosa demerarae)
†Marmosa laventica[81]
Tate's woolly mouse opossum (Marmosa paraguayanus)
Little woolly mouse opossum (Marmosa phaeus)
Bare-tailed woolly mouse opossum (Marmosa regina)
Genus Monodelphis
Yellow-sided opossum, Monodelphis dimidiata
Gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica
Sepia short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis adusta)
Northern three-striped opossum (Monodelphis americana)
Monodelphis arlindoi[82]
Northern red-sided opossum (Monodelphis brevicaudata)
Yellow-sided opossum (Monodelphis dimidiata)
Gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
Emilia's short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis emiliae)
Amazonian red-sided opossum (Monodelphis glirina)
Handley's short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis handleyi)[83]
Ihering's three-striped opossum (Monodelphis iheringi)
Pygmy short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis kunsi)
Marajó short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis maraxina)
Osgood's short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis osgoodi)
Hooded red-sided opossum (Monodelphis palliolata)
Monodelphis pinocchio
Reig's opossum (Monodelphis reigi)
Ronald's opossum (Monodelphis ronaldi)
Chestnut-striped opossum (Monodelphis rubida)
Monodelphis saci
Monodelphis sanctaerosae[84]
Long-nosed short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis scalops)
Southern red-sided opossum (Monodelphis sorex)
Southern three-striped opossum (Monodelphis theresa)
Monodelphis touan[82]
Red three-striped opossum (Monodelphis umbristriata)
One-striped opossum (Monodelphis unistriata)
Genus †Sparassocynus[13]
†Sparassocynus bahiai
†Sparassocynus derivatus
†Sparassocynus maimarai
†Sparassocynus heterotopicus
Genus †Thylatheridium
†Thylatheridium cristatum
†Thylatheridium hudsoni
†Thylatheridium pascuali
Genus Tlacuatzin[77]
Grayish mouse opossum (Tlacuatzin canescens)
†Genus Zygolestes
†Zygolestes tatei
Tribe Thylamyini
Genus Chacodelphys
Chacoan pygmy opossum (Chacodelphys formosa)
Genus Cryptonanus
Agricola's gracile opossum (Cryptonanus agricolai)
Chacoan gracile opossum (Cryptonanus chacoensis)
Guahiba gracile opossum (Cryptonanus guahybae)
†Red-bellied gracile opossum (Cryptonanus ignitus)
Unduavi gracile opossum (Cryptonanus unduaviensis)
Genus Gracilinanus
Aceramarca gracile opossum (Gracilinanus aceramarcae)
Agile gracile opossum (Gracilinanus agilis)
Wood sprite gracile opossum (Gracilinanus dryas)
Emilia's gracile opossum (Gracilinanus emilae)
Northern gracile opossum (Gracilinanus marica)
Brazilian gracile opossum (Gracilinanus microtarsus)
Genus Lestodelphys
Patagonian opossum (Lestodelphys halli)
Genus Marmosops
Gray slender opossum, Marmosops incanus
Bishop's slender opossum (Marmosops bishopi)
Narrow-headed slender opossum (Marmosops cracens)
Creighton's slender opossum Marmosops creightoni
Dorothy's slender opossum (Marmosops dorothea)
Dusky slender opossum (Marmosops fuscatus)
Handley's slender opossum (Marmosops handleyi)
Tschudi's slender opossum (Marmosops impavidus)
Gray slender opossum (Marmosops incanus)
Panama slender opossum (Marmosops invictus)
Junin slender opossum (Marmosops juninensis)
Neblina slender opossum (Marmosops neblina)
White-bellied slender opossum (Marmosops noctivagus)
Delicate slender opossum (Marmosops parvidens)
Brazilian slender opossum (Marmosops paulensis)
Pinheiro's slender opossum (Marmosops pinheiroi)
Genus Thylamys
Elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum, Thylamys elegans
†Thylamys colombianus[81]
Cinderella fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys cinderella)
Thylamys citellus[85]
Elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys elegans)
Thylamys fenestrae[86]
Karimi's fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys karimii)
Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys macrurus)
†Thylamys minutus[81]
White-bellied fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys pallidior)
Thylamys pulchellus[87]
†Thylamys pinei[88]
Common fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys pusillus)
Argentine fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys sponsorius)
Tate's fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys tatei)
Dwarf fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys velutinus)
Buff-bellied fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys venustus)
†Thylamys zettii[89]
References
Goin, Francisco; Abello, Alejandra; Bellosi, Eduardo; Kay, Richard; Madden, Richard; Carlini, Alfredo (2007). "Los Metatheria sudamericanos de comienzos del Neógeno (Mioceno Temprano, Edad-mamífero Colhuehuapense). Parte I: Introducción, Didelphimorphia y Sparassodonta". Ameghiniana. 44 (1): 29–71.
Gardner, A. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 3–18. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
"Opossums". National Geographic. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
Mithun, Marianne (2001). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge University Press. p. 332. ISBN 978-0-521-29875-9.
Crawford, James Mack; Crawford, James D. (1975). Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-0334-5.
Siebert, Jr., Frank T. (1975). "Resurrecting Virginia Algonquian from the Dead: The Reconstituted and Historical Phonology of Powhatan". In Crawford, James Mack (ed.). Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages. University of Georgia Press.
"possum". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
"Didelphimorphia". Wordnik. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
Krause, William J.; Krause, Winifred A. (2006).The Opossum: Its Amazing Story Archived 2012-12-11 at the Wayback Machine. Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. p. 39
Crompton, A. W.; Hiiemae, Karen (February 1970). "Molar occlusion and mandibular movements during occlusion in the American opossum, Didelphis marsupialis L." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 49 (1): 21–47. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1970.tb00728.x.
Goin, Francisco; Abello, Alejandra; Bellosi, Eduardo; Kay, Richard; Madden, Richard; Carlini, Alfredo (2007). "Los Metatheria sudamericanos de comienzos del Neógeno (Mioceno Temprano, Edad-mamífero Colhuehuapense). Parte I: Introducción, Didelphimorphia y Sparassodonta". Ameghiniana. 44 (1): 29–71.
Jansa, Sharon A.; Barker, F. Keith; Voss, Robert S. (March 2014). "The Early Diversification History of Didelphid Marsupials: A Window into South America's "splendid Isolation"". Evolution. 68 (3): 684–695. doi:10.1111/evo.12290. PMID 24125654. S2CID 10274949.
Beck, Robin M. D.; Taglioretti, Matias L. (2019). "A Nearly Complete Juvenile Skull of the Marsupial Sparassocynus derivatus from the Pliocene of Argentina, the Affinities of "Sparassocynids", and the Diversification of Opossums (Marsupialia; Didelphimorphia; Didelphidae)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 27 (3): 385–417. doi:10.1007/s10914-019-09471-y. S2CID 198190603.
Engelman, Russell K.; Anaya, Federico; Croft, Darin A. (9 November 2016). "New palaeothentid marsupials (Paucituberculata) from the middle Miocene of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia, and their implications for the palaeoecology, decline and extinction of the Palaeothentoidea". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 15 (10): 787–820. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1240112. S2CID 88758358.
Engelman, Russell K.; Croft, Darin A. (6 May 2014). "A new species of small-bodied sparassodont (Mammalia, Metatheria) from the middle Miocene locality of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 672–688. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.827118. S2CID 84680371.
Engelman, Russell K.; Anaya, Federico; Croft, Darin A. (27 June 2018). "Australogale leptognathus, gen. et sp. nov., a Second Species of Small Sparassodont (Mammalia: Metatheria) from the Middle Miocene Locality of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 27 (1): 37–54. doi:10.1007/s10914-018-9443-z. S2CID 49473591.
Goin, Francisco J.; Pardinas, Ulyses F. J. (1996). "Revision de las especies del genero Hyperdidelphys Ameghino, 1904 (Mammalia, Marsupialia, Didelphidae. Su significacion filogenetica, estratigrafica y adaptativa en el Neogeno del Cono Sur sudamericano". Estudios Geologicos. 52 (5–6): 327–359. doi:10.3989/egeol.96525-6275.
Martinelli, P.M.; Nogueira, J.C. (1997). "Penis morphology as a distinctive character of the murine opossum group (Marsupialia Didelphidae): A preliminary report". Mammalia. 61 (2). doi:10.1515/mamm.1997.61.2.161. S2CID 84674547.
De Barros, M. A.; Panattoni Martins, J. F.; Samoto, V. Y.; Oliveira, V. C.; Gonçalves, N.; Mançanares, C. A.; Vidane, A.; Carvalho, A. F.; Ambrósio, C. E.; Miglino, M. A. (2013). "Marsupial morphology of reproduction: South America opossum male model" (PDF). Microscopy Research and Technique. 76 (4): 388–97. doi:10.1002/jemt.22178. PMID 23362127. S2CID 27200317.
Vieira, Emerson R.; De Moraes, D. Astua (2003). "Carnivory and insectivory in Neotropical marsupials". Predators with Pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials. Csiro Publishing. pp. 267–280. ISBN 978-0-643-06634-2.
Marshall, Larry G. (1978). "Chironectes minimus". Mammalian Species. 109 (99): 1–6. doi:10.2307/3504051. JSTOR 3504051.
Goin, Francisco J.; Natalia Zimicz; Martin de los Reyes; Leopoldo Soibelzon (2009). "A new large didelphid of the genus Thylophorops (Mammalia: Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae), from the late Tertiary of the Pampean Region (Argentina)". Zootaxa. 2005: 35–46. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2005.1.3.
Prevosti, Francisco J.; Forasiepi, Analía; Zimicz, Natalia (2011). "The Evolution of the Cenozoic Terrestrial Mammalian Predator Guild in South America: Competition or Replacement?". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 20: 3–21. doi:10.1007/s10914-011-9175-9. S2CID 15751319.
Cenizo, Marcos; Soibelzon, Esteban; Magnussen Saffer, Mariano (2015). "Mammalian predator–prey relationships and reoccupation of burrows in the Pliocene of the Pampean Region (Argentina): New ichnological and taphonomic evidence". Historical Biology. 28 (8): 1026–1040. doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1089868. S2CID 83862150.
Flores, David A. (2009). "Phylogenetic analysis of postcranial skeletal morphology in didelphid marsupials". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 320: 1–81. doi:10.1206/320.1. hdl:2246/5953. S2CID 54177473.
Gardner, Alfred. Mammals of South America Volume 1. University of Chicago Press. p. 34.
Campbell, N. & Reece, J. (2005) Biology. Pearson Education Inc.
Reproduction – Life Cycle. opossumsocietyus.org.
Enders, A.C. & Enders, R.K. (2005). "The placenta of the four-eyed opossum (Philander opossum)". The Anatomical Record. 165 (3): 431–439. doi:10.1002/ar.1091650311. PMID 5346723. S2CID 85011250.
Krause, W.J. & Cutts, H. (1985). "Placentation in the Opossum, Didelphis virginiana". Acta Anatomica. 123 (3): 156–171. doi:10.1159/000146058. PMID 4061035.
O'Connell, Margaret A. (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 830–837. ISBN 978-0-87196-871-5.
"Opossums | National Geographic". Animals. 11 November 2010.
Mellor, D. J.; Lentle, R. G. (2015). "Survival implications of the development of behavioral responsiveness and awareness in different groups of mammalian young". New Zealand Veterinary Journal. 63 (3): 131–40. doi:10.1080/00480169.2014.969349. PMID 25266360. S2CID 24045688.
Virginia Opossum. Didelphis virginiana. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Opossum Facts. opossum.org.
"Possum Hunt". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10.
Moore, H.D. (1996). "Gamete biology of the new world marsupial, the grey short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica". Reproduction, Fertility, and Development. 8 (4): 605–15. doi:10.1071/RD9960605. PMID 8870084.
Hamilton, W. J., Jr. (1958). "Life history and economic relations of the opossum (Didelphis marsupialis virginiana) in New York State". Cornell Univ. Agric. Exp. Sta. Memoirs. 354: 1–48.
"Opossums – Living with Wildlife | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife". wdfw.wa.gov. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
Found an Orphaned or injured Opossum?. Opossumsocietyus.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-03.
González, E.M.; Claramunt, S. (2000). "Behaviors of captive short-tailed Opossums, Monodelphis dimidiata (Wagner, 1847) (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)". Mammalia. 64 (3). doi:10.1515/mamm.2000.64.3.271. S2CID 84782113.
"What Do Possums Eat? Facts About Their Diet | Terminix". Terminix.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
Voss, Robert S.; Jansa, Sharon A. (November 2012). "Snake-venom resistance as a mammalian trophic adaptation: lessons from didelphid marsupials". Biological Reviews. 87 (4): 822–837. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2012.00222.x. PMID 22404916. S2CID 21264310.
Perales, Jonas; Moussatché, Haity; Marangoni, Sergio; Oliveira, Benedito; Domont, Gilberto B. (October 1994). "Isolation and partial characterization of an anti-bothropic complex from the serum of South American Didelphidae". Toxicon. 32 (10): 1237–1249. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(94)90353-0. PMID 7846694.
Voss, Robert S. (May 2013). "Opossums (Mammalia: Didelphidae) in the diets of Neotropical pitvipers (Serpentes: Crotalinae): Evidence for alternative coevolutionary outcomes?". Toxicon. 66: 1–6. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2013.01.013. PMID 23402839.
Kirchner, Jane (13 June 2017). "Opossums: Unsung Heroes in the Fight Against Ticks and Lyme Disease". National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
Gardner, A.L.; Sunquist, M.E. (2003). "Opossum: Didelphis virginiana". In Feldhamer, G.A.; Thompson, B.C.; Chapman, J.A. (eds.). Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation. JHU Press. pp. 3–29. ISBN 978-0-8018-7416-1.
"opossum | marsupial". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
"Virginia Opossum – Didelphis virginiana – NatureWorks". www.nhptv.org. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
Oldham, Cydni (2019-07-25). "Possum - Description, Habitat, Image, Diet, and Interesting Facts". Animals Network. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
"Animals in the Temperate Rainforest Biome". Sciencing. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
"Maine's marsupials: Opossums continue to move north". Bangor Daily News. 2012-10-26.
Sutton, Keith (January 12, 2009) Possum days gone. ESPN Outdoors.
Wild Game Recipes online. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
Powell, Bonnie Azab (2006-10-14) The joy of the ‘Joy of Cooking,’ circa 1962 Archived 2006-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. ethicurean.com.
Apicius (2012). Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome. Courier Corporation. pp. 205–. ISBN 978-0-486-15649-1.
McNulty, Timothy (September 6, 1978). "Possums Are His Passion". The Evening Independent.
"'Possum Man' is Mayor". The Hour. September 29, 1978.
Moser, Mike (August 6, 2004). "King of the possums is dead". Crossville Chronicle.
Jones, Evan (2007). American Food: The Gastronomic Story. Overlook Press. ISBN 978-1-58567-904-1.
"Possum Recipes". 11 November 1999. Archived from the original on 11 November 1999.
"Over 'Possums Comes A Clash". Atlanta Constitution. February 4, 1909. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
History of Worth County, Georgia: For the First Eighty Years, 18-54-1934. J.W. Burke Company. 1934. pp. 83–84.
"Cooking a Possum". 9 November 1999. Archived from the original on 9 November 1999.
Carter, Jimmy (1995). Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems. Times Books. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-0-8129-2434-3.
Raum, Elizabeth (13 September 2011). Gift of Peace: The Jimmy Carter Story: The Jimmy Carter Story. Zonderkidz. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-310-72757-6.
"President Jimmy Carter Inducted into Georgia Hunting and Fishing Hall of Fame".
Doolittle, Leslie (February 11, 2001). "Carter Shares Times". Orlando Sentinel.
Twain, Mark; Warner, Charles Dudley (1904). The Writings of Mark Twain [pseud.].: A tramp abroad. Harper & Bros. pp. 263–.
"Mark Twain's Rapturous List of His Favorite American Foods". 2 March 2012.
"A little bill of fare". listsofnote.com. 2 March 2012.
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (1907). The Writings of Mark Twain [pseud.]. Harper. pp. 263–.
Warner, Charles Dudley (1907). The Writings of Mark Twain [pseud.]: A tramp abroad. Harper & brothers. pp. 263–.
Twain, Mark (27 October 2010). Mark Twain's Library of Humor. Random House Publishing Group. pp. 200–. ISBN 978-0-307-76542-0.
Twain, Mark (1901). A tramp abroad. American Publishing Company. pp. 263–.
Twain, Mark (18 October 2004). Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race. University of California Press. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-0-520-93134-3.
Howells, William Dean (1888). Mark Twain's Library of Humor. Charles L. Webster & Company. pp. 232–.
DiGregorio, Sarah (6 July 2010). "Mark Twain Eats America". villagevoice.com.
Walker Linsenmeyer, Helen; Kraig, Bruce (2011). Cooking Plain, Illinois Country Style. SIU Press. pp. 7–. ISBN 978-0-8093-3074-4.
"Southern Caribbean: Islands of Martinique, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
"tlacuache". Diccionario Enciclopédico de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana. Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana.
Worley, Paul M. (2013). Telling and Being Told: Storytelling and Cultural Control in Contemporary Yucatec Maya Literatures. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 9780816530267 – via Google Books.
Silva, Andréa Leme da (2008). "Animais medicinais: Conhecimento e uso entre as populações ribeirinhas do rio Negro, Amazonas, Brasil". Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Ciências Humanas. 3 (3): 343–357. doi:10.1590/S1981-81222008000300005.
Pinto, Angélica Auxiliadora da Costa; Maduro, Cice Batalha (2003). "Produtos e subprodutos da medicina popular comercializados na cidade de Boa Vista, Roraima". Acta Amazonica. 33 (2): 281–290. doi:10.1590/1809-4392200332290.
Barros, Flávio B.; Varela, Susana AM; Pereira, Henrique M.; Vicente, Luís (2012). "Medicinal use of fauna by a traditional community in the Brazilian Amazonia". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 8: 37. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-8-37. PMC 3502351. PMID 23013927.
Upham, Nathan S.; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Jetz, Walter (2019). "Inferring the mammal tree: Species-level sets of phylogenies for questions in ecology, evolution and conservation". PLOS Biol. 17 (12): e3000494. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494. PMC 6892540. PMID 31800571.
Voss, Robert S.; Jansa, Sharon A. (2009). "Phylogenetic relationships and classification of didelphid marsupials, an extant radiation of New World metatherian mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 322: 1–177. doi:10.1206/322.1. hdl:2246/5975. S2CID 85017821.
Goin, Francisco J.; de los Reyes, Martin (2011). "Contribution to the knowledge of living representatives of the genus Lutreolina Thomas, 1910 (Mammalia, Marsupialia, Didelphidae)". Historia Natural. 1 (2): 15–25. JSTOR 20627135.
Martínez-Lanfranco, Juan A.; Flores, David; Jayat, J. Pablo; d'Elía, Guillermo (2014). "A new species of lutrine opossum, genus Lutreolina Thomas (Didelphidae), from the South American Yungas". Journal of Mammalogy. 95 (2): 225. doi:10.1644/13-MAMM-A-246. S2CID 85599660.
Cozzuol, Mario A.; Goin, Francisco J.; de los Reyes, Martin; Ranzi, Alceu (2006). "The oldest species of Didelphis (Mammalia, Marsupialia, Didelphidae) from the late Miocene of Amazonia". Journal of Mammalogy. 87 (4): 663–667. doi:10.1644/05-MAMM-A-282R2.1. S2CID 85646145.
Goin, Francisco J. (1997). "New clues for understanding Neogene marsupial radiations". Vertebrate Paleontology of the Miocene in Colombia. A History of the Neotropical Fauna. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. pp. 185–204. ISBN 978-1-56098-418-4.
Pavan, Silvia Eliza; Rossi, Rogerio Vieira; Schneider, Horacio (2012). "Species diversity in the Monodelphis brevicaudata complex (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) inferred from molecular and morphological data, with the description of a new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 165: 190–223. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00791.x.
Solari, S. (2016). Monodelphis handleyi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T199833A22171921.en
Voss, Robert S.; Pine, Ronald H.; Solari, Sergio (2012). "A New Species of the Didelphid Marsupial Genus Monodelphis from Eastern Bolivia". American Museum Novitates. 3740 (3740): 1. doi:10.1206/3740.2. S2CID 83545414.
Flores, D. & Teta, P. (2016). Thylamys citellus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T199835A22172943.en
Martin, G.M. & Flores, D. (2016). Thylamys fenestrae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T199836A22172852.en
Flores, D. & Teta, P. (2016). Thylamys pulchellus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T199834A22172571.en
Goin, Francisco J.; Montalvo, C.I.; Visconti, G. (2000). "Los marsupiales (Mammalia) del Mioceno Superior de la Formacion Cerro Azul (Provincia de La Pampa, Argentina)". Estudios Geologicos. 56 (1–2): 101–126. doi:10.3989/egeol.00561-2158.
Goin, Francisco J. (1997). "Thylamys zettii, nueva especie de marmosino (Marsupialia, Didelphidae) del Cenozoico tardio de la region Pampeana". Ameghiniana. 34 (4): 481–484.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
