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Mouse opossum, murine opossum - MARMOSA MURINA
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Murine": "Murine" is Latin for "mouse." The word "opossum" was taken from the Algonquian Indian word for the animal. Although other animals in South America and Australia are called "possums," they are not closely related to the Virginia animal, and only derive their name by dint of a generally similar shape. True opossums are unique to North America.
Location: The murine opossum is found in South America a.ong the Amazon and Orinoco River basins and in the lower parts of the Andes Mountains.
Habitat: It lives mostly in tropical rain forests and is arboreal.
Description: This is a mouselike creature with a pointed nose. Its medium-sized ears are thin and hairless and can be "rolled down" (kind of like unfurling the sail on a boat). Aside from the ears and the long tail, the rest of the body is covered with dense fur which is brown to cinnamon colored on the back and creamy colored on the underside, with a pronounced black patch around each eye. It climbs easily through the trees, grasping small twigs and vines with its opposable big toe and prehensile tail.
Behavior: The mouse oppossum is a solitary nocturnal animal which spends the night scurrying about looking for food. During the day, it sleeps high in the trees in its own nest built of leaves and twigs, or it might take over an abandoned bird's next or someone else's burrow. It's diet consists mainly of fruit, insects, small lizards, and eggs.
Reproduction: This creature is a true marsupial, but aside from its "roll-down" ears, it bears little resemblance to one. The most obvious difference is that the female has no pouch. They breed all year long and have a gestation period of about 14 days. There are typically five or more babies in a litter. Each one clings to a teat until it is old enough to hang onto the fur of its mother's back.
Go to the Marsupials Page to get a general discussion of these animals.
Or go to the Opossum Index to study more opossums.
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