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.
Alston's mouse opossum, also known as Alston's opossum, is a medium-sized pouchless marsupial of the family Didelphidae. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The white-bellied slender opossum is a species of opossum from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru.
Hylaeamys megacephalus, also known as Azara's broad-headed oryzomys or the large-headed rice rat, is a species of rodent in the genus Hylaeamys of family Cricetidae, of which it is the type species. It is found mainly in lowland tropical rainforest from its type locality in Paraguay north through central Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela onto Trinidad and Tobago. To its west and east, other closely related species of Hylaeamys are found: H. perenensis in western Amazonia, H. acritus in Bolivia, and H. laticeps and H. oniscus in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil.
Dorothy's slender opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in Brazil and Bolivia. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Thylamys is a genus of opossums in the family Didelphidae. The premaxillae are rounded rather than pointed. The females lack a pouch. The females' nipples are arranged in two symmetrical rows on the abdomen. All species but T. macrurus store fat in their tails., although this is not necessarily true for all species in the genus. Fossils belonging to the genus date back to the Miocene, with the oldest specimens being found in the Cerro Azul Formation of Argentina and the Honda Group of Colombia. Genetic studies indicate that the genus may have originated around 14 million years ago.
Bishop's slender opossum is a small, arboreal marsupial opossum native to Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. It somewhat resembles a placental rat or shrew.
The red-bellied gracile opossum is an extinct species of opossum that was native to Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Its forest habitat has been destroyed, and it was last seen in 1962.
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.
Agricola's gracile opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae endemic to eastern Brazil. Its habitat is the caatinga and cerrado. While its conservation status has not been determined, expansion of agricultural activities is leading to loss of some of its habitat. There are several protected areas in the species' range but it has not been collected from these areas. The species is named after Brazilian physician Ernani Agricola.
The Guahiba gracile opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is endemic to southern Brazil, where it is known only from three islands, Guahiba, São Lourenço, and Taquara, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The poorly studied species is presumed to inhabit subtropical forests, and thus to be threatened by deforestation.
The Unduavi gracile opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is native to northern Bolivia, where it has been found in seasonally flooded grassland. Some of the specimens recognized by Voss et al. as belonging to this species were previously classified as the unduaviensis or buenavistae subspecies of Gracilinanus agilis.
The Quechuan mouse opossum is a South American opossum species of the family Didelphidae. It is known from two areas of montane forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru, at altitudes from 300 to 2700 m. The type locality in the Valle de Occobamba is in the southern area, in Cuzco Region, while the northern area is in the vicinity of Moyobamba in San Martín Region. The true range may be more extensive and possibly extends into Bolivia. The northern area has suffered from habitat destruction, but the southern area is not seriously degraded.
Hylaeamys acritus, formerly Oryzomys acritus, is an oryzomyine rodent of the family Cricetidae. The name is derived from the Greek word ακριτος 'confused, doubtful', because it could easily be confused with species such as H. megacephalus and Euryoryzomys nitidus. It is known only from northeastern Bolivia; its type locality is within Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. The rodent is terrestrial and is found in moist lowland semideciduous forest and savanna. It has olive brown coloration on its back; the cheeks and flanks are amber, and the top of the head is dark. The coat is 9 mm long at the center of the torso. Chest fur between the front legs is thick and 3 to 4 mm long. Abdominal hairs are gray at the base and white at the top.
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.
