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Didelphis

File:Didelphis_albiventris_(Lund,_1840)_(3452477057).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Also known as opossum, opossums

Didelphis is a genus of New World marsupials. The six species in the genus Didelphis, commonly known as Large American opossums, are members of the opossum order, Didelphimorphia.

OverviewAI-generated

*Didelphis* is a genus of mammals within the family Didelphidae and order Didelphimorphia. It belongs to the class Mammalia, phylum Chordata, and kingdom Animalia. The genus is classified under the subfamily Didelphinae and tribe Didelphini. Its taxonomic status is accepted, with the authority cited as Linnaeus, 1758.

The temporal range for *Didelphis* begins in the Late Miocene. Records of the genus are present in Mexico, the United States, and Peru. Various institutions, including CM, SEMAHN, UTCM, IBUNAM, and CUMV, hold records related to this taxon. The genus has been described in the *Encyclopaedia Hebraica*.

Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, iNaturalist, PubMed, Gbif Occ, iDigBio, WoRMS, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Virginia Opossum

GENUS

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderDidelphimorphia
  5. FamilyDidelphidae
Observations72,259
Observations recorded116,386

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
327
With media
21
Family
Didelphidae
Collections
CM, SEMAHN, UTCM, IBUNAM, CUMV, UAZ
Recorded in
Mexico, United States, Peru

Research

1,522 papers

via PubMed

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

4 sections
Contents
  • Human interaction
  • Phylogeny
  • Species
  • References

Didelphis is a genus of New World marsupials. The six species in the genus Didelphis, commonly known as Large American opossums, are members of the opossum order, Didelphimorphia.

The genus Didelphis is composed of cat-sized omnivorous species, which can be recognized by their prehensile tails and their tendency to feign death when cornered. The largest species, the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), is the only marsupial to be found north of Mexico.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Didelphis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (25)