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 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.
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.
Linnaeus's mouse opossum, also known as the common or murine mouse opossum, is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae.
The red mouse opossum is a South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. Its range includes eastern Ecuador and Peru.
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 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 brown-eared woolly opossum, also known as the western woolly opossum, is an opossum from South America. It was first described by German naturalist Ignaz von Olfers in 1818. The opossum is characterized by a brown to reddish brown coat and similarly colored limbs, yellow to orange underbelly, hairless, brown ears with a hint of pink, and a tail furred on the back for up to half of its length. The brown-eared woolly opossum is nocturnal, solitary and omnivorous. The IUCN lists 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 Patagonian opossum(Lestodelphys halli) is the sole species in genus Lestodelphys.
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.
The Mexican mouse opossum is a species of North American opossum in the family Didelphidae.
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 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.
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.
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.
