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.
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.
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.
The agile gracile opossum, is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Emilia's gracile opossum is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Suriname.
The Brazilian gracile opossum is a species of small opossum from Brazil.
The Aceramarca gracile opossum or Bolivian gracile opossum is a species of opossum. It is native to Bolivia and Peru, where it occurs in tropical elfin forest habitat.
The northern gracile opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. G. marica naturally occurs in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Kalinowski's mouse opossum or the Peru gracile mouse opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests at elevations up to 1000 m.
The dusky slender opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The dryad shrew tenrec, also known as the tree shrew tenrec, is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Gracilinanus is a genus of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It was separated from the genus Marmosa in 1989, and has since had the genera Cryptonanus, Chacodelphys, and Hyladelphys removed from it.
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.
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 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.
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 Junin slender opossum is a species of South American opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is known only from the valley of the Chanchamayu in Peru where it lives in Andean montane forests at elevations between 1460 and 2200 m. The species is threatened by destruction of its forest habitat as the area under cultivation in the region increases.
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.
