Alston's mouse opossum

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Alston's mouse opossum
Alston's opossum marmosa alstoni.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Marmosa
Subgenus: Micoureus
Species:
M. alstoni
Binomial name
Marmosa alstoni
(J. A. Allen, 1900)
Alston's Woolly Mouse Opossum area.png
Alston's mouse opossum range
Synonyms

Caluromys alstoni
(J. A. Allen, 1900)
Micoureus alstoni
(J. A. Allen, 1900)

Alston's mouse opossum (Marmosa alstoni), also known as Alston's opossum, is a medium-sized pouchless marsupial of the family Didelphidae. [2] It is arboreal and nocturnal, inhabiting forests from Belize to northern Colombia. The main components of its diet are insects and fruits, but it may also eat small rodents, lizards, and bird eggs. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus , which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opossum</span> Family of mammals

Opossums are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of North and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-bellied woolly mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The white-bellied woolly mouse opossum is a small pouchless marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009. The specific epithet was given in honour of Constance Sladen, wife of the naturalist Percy Sladen. She funded the 1902 expedition which collected the type specimen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolly mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The woolly mouse opossum or long-furred woolly mouse opossum, known locally as the cuíca, is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. Its range includes central Colombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Brazil. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bare-tailed woolly mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The bare-tailed woolly mouse opossum or short-furred woolly mouse opossum is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. Its range includes Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. It is found in tropical rainforest in the westernmost portion of the Amazon Basin and the eastern foothills of the Andes, at elevations up to 1634 m. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The red mouse opossum is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. Its range includes eastern Ecuador and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler's mouse opossum</span> South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae

Tyler's mouse opossum is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It lives in rainforests of the Guiana Highlands of southern Venezuela at elevations between 1300 and 2200 m. The species has only been found on three isolated tepuis. All three of these locations are in protected areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chacoan pygmy opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The Chacoan pygmy opossum is a recently described genus and species of didelphimorph marsupial. The only species in Chacodelphys, C. formosa, was known until 2004 from only one specimen collected in 1920 in the Chaco of Formosa Province, Argentina. The species is gaining popularity as a pocket pet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushy-tailed opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The bushy-tailed opossum is an opossum from South America. It was first described by English zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1912. It is a medium-sized opossum characterized by a large, oval, dark ears, fawn to cinnamon coat with a buff to gray underside, grayish limbs, and a furry tail. Little is known of the behavior of the bushy-tailed opossum; less than 25 specimens are known. It appears to be arboreal (tree-living), nocturnal and solitary. The diet probably comprises insects, eggs and plant material. This opossum has been captured from heavy, humid, tropical forests; it has been reported from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The IUCN classifies it as least concern.

<i>Marmosa</i> Genus of marsupials

The 27 species in the genus Marmosa are relatively small Neotropical members of the family Didelphidae. This genus is one of three that are known as mouse opossums. The others are Thylamys and Tlacuatzin, the grayish mouse opossum. Members of the genus Marmosops used to be called "slender mouse opossums", but are now just called "slender opossums". The thirteen members of the Marmosa subgenus Micoureus, known as woolly mouse opossums, were formerly considered to be a separate genus, but were moved into Marmosa in 2009. Based on a comparison of sequences of one mitochondrial and three nuclear genes, three new subgenera, Eomarmosa, Exulomarmosa and Stegomarmosa, were recognized by Voss et al. in 2014. Eomarmosa and Exulomarmosa, as well as Marmosa and Micoureus, are thought to be sister taxa, while Stegomarmosa is viewed as sister to Marmosa plus Micoureus. Exulomarmosa is a mostly trans-Andean clade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patagonian opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The Patagonian opossum(Lestodelphys halli) is the sole species in genus Lestodelphys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavy-browed mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The heavy-browed mouse opossum, or Anderson's mouse opossum, is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is endemic to a restricted range in southern Peru. This opossum inhabits forests; it is nocturnal and probably arboreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The Mexican mouse opossum is a species of North American opossum in the family Didelphidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum, also known as the Chilean mouse opossum, is an opossum from central Chile. The type species of Thylamys, it was first described by English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse in 1839. This medium-sized opossum is characterized by black rings around the eyes, white limbs, gray to light brown coat, lighter flanks and underbelly and a thick 12.7–14.6 centimetres (5.0–5.7 in) long tail covered with hairs. It is crepuscular and lives in nests in tree hollows or under rocks and roots. This opossum feeds mainly on arthropods and larvae apart from fruits. Litter size is typically between 11 and 13. The elegant fat-tailed opossum can occur in a variety of habitats – from cloud forests to chaparrals. The IUCN classifies the opossum as least concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop's slender opossum</span> Species of marsupial

Bishop's slender opossum is a small, arboreal marsupial opossum native to Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. It somewhat resembles a placental rat or shrew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-bellied fat-tailed mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The buff-bellied fat-tailed mouse opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in the transitional and humid forests of northern Argentina and southern Bolivia. Its dorsal fur is cinnamon brown. Most of its ventral fur is gray-based, but its chest, throat, and the thoracic midline are not gray-based. The postorbital ridges are absent in the young and weakly developed in adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chacoan gracile opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The chacoan gracile opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is native to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Its habitat is seasonally flooded grasslands and forests in and near the Gran Chaco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tate's woolly mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

Tate's woolly mouse opossum is an omnivorous, arboreal South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae, named after American zoologist George Henry Hamilton Tate. It is native to Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The species lives in both primary and secondary forest, including forest fragments within grassland. Insects are a major component of its diet. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009. While its conservation status is "least concern", its habitat is shrinking through urbanization and conversion to agriculture over much of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little woolly mouse opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The little woolly mouse opossum is a nocturnal, arboreal and mainly solitary South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is native to the western slopes of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, where it lives at altitudes from sea level to 1500 m. It primarily inhabits lowland rainforest and montane cloud forest, although it has been reported from dry forest in the southern end of its range. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009. Its conservation status is Vulnerable, due to habitat fragmentation and continuing loss of habitat via urbanization and conversion to agriculture.

<i>Cryptonanus</i> Genus of marsupials

Cryptonanus is a genus of opossums from South America. It includes five species found from Bolivia to Uruguay and eastern Brazil, one of which is now extinct. Although the first species were discovered in 1931, the genus was not recognized as distinct from Gracilinanus until 2005. It includes small opossums with generally grayish, sometimes reddish, fur that are mainly distinguished from other opossums by characters of the skull.

References

  1. Martin, G.M. (2016). "Marmosa alstoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T13296A22173632. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T13296A22173632.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In 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.
  3. Voss, R. S.; Jansa, S. A. (2009). "Phylogenetic relationships and classification of didelphid marsupials, an extant radiation of New World metatherian mammals" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 322: 1–177. doi:10.1206/322.1. hdl:2246/5975. S2CID   85017821.