Southeastern four-eyed opossum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
Order: | Didelphimorphia |
Family: | Didelphidae |
Genus: | Philander |
Species: | P. frenatus |
Binomial name | |
Philander frenatus Olfers, 1818 | |
Geographic range |
The southeastern four-eyed opossum (Philander frenatus) is an opossum species native to South America. [2] It is found in Atlantic Forest ecoregions, in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.
It is a large dark gray opossum. Dorsal fur is dark gray, and the fur on the sides is also gray, but lighter than the dorsal fur. The ventral fur is white or cream-colored. The hairs on the throat have gray bases, but are divided in two by a cream-colored vertical stripe going along the midline of the throat. Its fur is short. Its tail is dark brown or black for its entire length. [3]
It is considered to be a junior synonym of the gray four-eyed opossum by some sources, such as the Mammal Diversity Database, [4] and the species occupying this range is Philander quica . [5] [6]
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. Some sources, such as the American Society of Mammalogists, believe this species is a synonym of the Isthmian mouse opossum.
The gray four-eyed opossum is an opossum species found in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil, at altitudes from sea level to 1600 m, but generally below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Its habitats include primary, secondary and disturbed forest. It is one of many opossum species in the order Didelphimorphia and the family Didelphidae.
The bare-tailed woolly opossum is an opossum from South America. It was first described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The bare-tailed woolly opossum is characterized by a gray head, brown to gray coat, orange to gray underside and a partially naked tail. It is nocturnal and solitary; there is hardly any social interaction except between mother and juveniles and in mating pairs. The opossum constructs nests in tree cavities, and its litter size ranges from one to seven. Gestation lasts 25 days, and the juveniles exit the pouch after three months; weaning occurs a month later. The bare-tailed woolly opossum inhabits subtropical forests, rainforests, secondary forests, and plantations; its range extends from northern Venezuela to northeastern and southcentral Brazil. The IUCN classifies this opossum as least concern.
Anderson's four-eyed opossum is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Its dorsal fur is dark, with a black stripe, about 3–4 cm wide, going vertically down the midline of its back. Its dorsal fur is short, about 10 mm long. Its ventral fur is dark gray, but still distinctly lighter than the sides and dorsum. Its tail is furred for the first (approximately) 18% of its length, going from the base to the tip. Its species name "andersoni" was chosen to honor American scientific collector Malcolm Playfair Anderson.
The nine species in the genus Philander, commonly known as gray and black four-eyed opossums, are members of the order Didelphimorphia. Mature females have a well-developed marsupium. The tail appears to be hairless except for the proximal 5 or 6 cm, which has a few long hairs. The tail is slightly longer than the head-and-body length, and it is black for the proximal one half to two thirds of its length. The genus is closely related to Didelphis but the species of Philander are smaller than those of Didelphis. The genus formerly included Metachirus nudicaudatus, but this species lacks a pouch and so is now considered a separate genus. The common name comes from the white spots above the eyes, which can appear from a distance to be another set of eyes.
The black four-eyed opossum is a species of opossum from South America.
Marmosops is a genus of Neotropical opossums of the family Didelphidae. The genus was originally treated as a subgenus from the genus Marmosa rather than having their own classification. This was changed in 1989 by Gardner and Crieghton, who officially separated the group and made them their own genus. The mix-up between to genera Marmosa and Marmosops was common due to the similar appearances including size and other external features. However, the two groups differ significantly in their integument and in the arrangement of their skull and dentition. The dentition is similar in morphology between the two groups, with the exception of the deciduous lower third premolar varying from one genus to the next. The similarity between the two continues to cause the genus Marmosops to be frequently misidentified due to the lack of knowledge regarding the species along with the overlooked traits that help separate them from other opossums. The Marmosops are also commonly confused with the genus Gracilinanus, but this is quickly ruled out by a large number of differing characteristics. These differences include the arrangement of their digits, caudal scales, and the central hair on the scales changing from a three hairs per follicle to many more. This causes the hair of the Gracilinanus to be thicker and has also found to be heavily pigmented. The last group commonly confused with Marmosops is known as the genus Thylamys. These animals have a contrasting dorsal body pelage and the taxa are actually quite different.
Maria Nazareth Ferreira da Silva is a zoologist from Manaus, Brazil.
The common fat-tailed mouse opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It occurs in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay in chaco and Andean foothill habitats. Its head-and-body length is about 75 to 120 mm, and its tail length is about 90 to 134 mm. Its dorsal fur is brownish gray, and its ventral fur is yellowish to white. The legs and cheeks are the same color as the ventral surface. Its tail is sharply bicolored. A ring of faintly darker fur surrounds each eye. Its tail often lacks fat deposits, but does not always.
The Argentine fat-tailed mouse opossum was formerly considered a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in the eastern foothills of the Andes in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia. Typically reach around 10-13 cm in body length, with a bushy tail adding another 12-15 cm. Its dorsal fur is gray brown to dark brown. Its ventral fur is gray-based except for the white to yellowish chest hairs. It has been distinguished from T. cinderella by its postorbital ridges. T. cinderella has well-developed postorbital ridges in both juveniles and adults that extend laterally behind the eye sockets. Only adults of T. sponsorius have fully developed postorbital ridges, and these do not extend laterally behind the eye sockets. While the American Society of Mammalogists maintains this as a distinct species, mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis does not support the population being distinct from T. cinderella.
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.
The deltaic four-eyed opossum or delta opossum is a species of opossum found in the Orinoco River delta region of Venezuela, South America, first described in 2006. It inhabits perennially flooded swamp forest or seasonally flooded marsh forest of the adjacent deltas of the Orinoco and nearby rivers. Its dorsal fur is gray. Its ventral fur is cream-colored, but is restricted by the hairs on the sides, which are gray at the base. Its ears are colored only along the margins. The spots above its eyes are small. The spots behind its ears are small and inconspicuous.
Mondolfi's four-eyed opossum is a South American species of opossum found in Colombia and Venezuela, first described in 2006. It inhabits foothills of the Cordillera de Mérida and those on the eastern side of the Cordillera Oriental at elevations from 50 to 800 m. Populations in the two ranges may represent distinct subspecies. It is named after the Venezuelan biologist Edgardo Mondolfi. It has short woolly fur with a pale cream-colored venter as well as large ears pigmented on only the distal half. It is considered to be a junior synonym of the common four-eyed opossum by some sources, such as the Mammal Diversity Database.
Olrog's four-eyed opossum is a South American species of opossum endemic to eastern Bolivia, first described in 2008 based on specimens collected in 1974. It inhabits the lowland Amazon rainforest, with an elevation range of 150 to 250 m. The species is named after Swedish-Argentine biologist Claes C. Olrog. It is sympatric with P. opossum, which it resembles. The two species differ in several ways, such as ventral fur color and condition of the zygomatic arch. It is considered to be a junior synonym of the common four-eyed opossum by some sources, such as the Mammal Diversity Database.
The common four-eyed opossum is a species of opossum from South America.
The dark four-eyed opossum is a species of opossum from Central and South America.
The Pebas four-eyed opossum is a species of opossum from South America.
The southern four-eyed opossum is a species of opossum from South America.
The northern four-eyed opossum is a species of opossum from Central America.