File:Yapok_(Chironectes_minimus),_Uruguay,_1998.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, water opossum is referenced by 178 other articles, and connects out to Bushy-tailed opossum, Kalinowski's mouse opossum and Brown four-eyed opossum.
It sits within the topics Aquatic mammals, Extant Pliocene first appearances and IUCN Red List least concern species.
Its subject is documented across 40 Wikipedia language editions.
Species
Least Concernvia IUCN
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Chironectes
- Mass
- 697
- Image
- Yapok (Chironectes minimus), Uruguay, 1998.jpg
Show 11 more facts
- taxon rank
- species
- IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern
- Commons category
- Chironectes minimus
- taxon name
- Chironectes minimus
- Commons gallery
- Chironectes minimus
- taxon common name
- zarigüeya acuática
- litter size
- 2.5
- longest observed lifespan
- 3.1
- short name
- C. minimus
- described by source
- New International Encyclopedia
- taxon range
- Americas
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (/ˈjæpɒk/), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is the only monotypic species of its genus, Chironectes. This semiaquatic creature is found in and near freshwater streams and lakes from Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina and is the most aquatic living marsupial (the lutrine opossum also has semiaquatic habits). It is also the only extant marsupial species in which both sexes have a pouch. The now extinct thylacine, commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, also exhibited this trait.
The local name for the water opossum, "yapok", may come from the name of the Oyapock River in French Guiana.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “water opossum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.