Guyana opossum
| Guyana opossum | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Didelphis imperfecta | ||||||||||||
| Mondolfi & Pérez-Hernández , 1984 |
The Guyana opossum ( Didelphis imperfecta ) is a species of marsupial that occurs in northeastern South America. The distribution area extends from Venezuela south of the Orinoco over the three Guayanas to the north of the Brazilian state of Amapá and also includes the north of Roraima .
description
The animals reach a head trunk length of 31.7 to 39 cm, have a 30 to 41 cm long tail and reach a weight of 0.6 to 1.2 kg. Males and females have different skull shapes. The back fur is black or gray. It consists of two layers of hair, a lower layer formed by yellowish-white hair and a layer of top hair , which is mostly white but has a black tip. If the tip of the hair is matt, the fur appears gray overall; if the tips are shiny black, the fur looks blackish. The sides of the body and abdomen are dirty white, the underside from the chin to the chest is yellowish. The head is light gray, whitish or yellowish. The dark mask markings typical of opossums are less pronounced in the Guyana white oropossum than in the common white oropossum ( Didelphis albiventris ). The mask drawing is more developed in the gray morph than in the black. The ears are large and blackish, with white tips and bases of the ears. In young animals, the ears can also be completely white. Front and rear legs as well as front and rear feet are black. The tail is black, the tip is yellowish white. The body third of the tail is hairy, the rest is hairless.
Habitat and way of life
The Guyana opossum is found in tropical and subtropical evergreen forests at altitudes of 100 to 2200 meters above sea level. It is missing directly on the coast. In eastern Venezuela it lives in the lowland rainforest as well as on the tepuis or in elven forests with relatively low trees, in Brazil in terra firme forests, on flooded fields and in savannas. Guyana opossums live both on the ground and by climbing trees and shrubs. So far nothing is known about nutrition and little is known about reproductive behavior. Females with young animals have been caught in all months with the exception of November. Most of the juvenile-bearing females were registered in the months from December to May. The number of pups ranges from a single to nine. The youngest females with pups weighed 440 grams.
Danger
The Guyana opossum is considered safe. It has a relatively large range, is common, and is also found in some protected areas.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Diego Astúa: Family Didelphidae (Opossums). in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 . Page 161.