Opossum

The opossums, also known by their scientific name Didelphimorphia , make up the largest order ofmarsupials in the Western Hemisphere, including 103 or more species in 19 genera. Of South American ancestry, theyentered North America following the connection of the two continents. Their unspecialized biology, flexible diet, and reproductive habits make them successful colonizers and survivors in The word "opossum" is borrowed from the Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) language, and was first recorded between 1607 and 1611 by the Jamestown colonists John Smith (as "opassom") and William Strachey (as "aposoum"). The word ultimately derives from the Proto-Algonquian word *wa˙p- aʔθemw, meaning "white dog" or "white beast/animal".

They are also commonly called possums, particularly in the Southern United States and Midwest. Following the discovery ofAustralia, the term "possum" was borrowed to describe distantly related Australian marsupials of the suborderPhalangeriformes, which are more closely related to other Australian marsupials such as kangaroos. diverse locatio Didelphimorphs are small to medium-sized marsupials, ranging in size from a large house cat to a small mouse. They tend to be semi-arboreal omnivores, although there are many exceptions. Most members of this taxon have long snouts, a narrowbraincase, and a prominent sagittal crest. The dental formula is: 5.1.3.44.1.3.4. By mammalian standards, this is an unusually full jaw. The incisors are very small, the canines large, and the molars are tricuspid.Didelphimorphs have a plantigrade stance (feet flat on the ground) and the hind feet have an opposable digit with no claw. Like some New World monkeys, opossums have prehensile tails. Like all marsupials, the fur consists of awn hair only, and the females have a pouch. The tail and parts of the feet bear scutes. The stomach is simple, with a small cecum. Notably, the male opossum has a forked penis bearing twin glandes.

Opossums have a remarkably robust immune system, and show partial or total immunity to the venom of rattlesnakes,cottonmouths, and other pit vipers. Opossums are about eight times less likely to carry rabies than wild dogs, and about one in eight hundred opossums is infected with this virus. Although all living opossums are essentially opportunistic omnivores, different species vary in the amount of meat and vegetation they include in their diet. 
Members of the Caluromyinae are essentially frugivorous; whereas the lutrine opossum and Patagonian opossum primarily feed on other animals. The yapok (Chironectes minimus) is particularly unusual, as it is the only living semi-aquatic marsupial, using its webbed hindlimbs to dive in search of freshwater mollusks and crayfish. Most opossums are scansorial, well-adapted to life in the trees or on the ground, but members of the Caluromyinae and Glironiinae are primarily arboreal, whereas species of Metachirus, Monodelphis, and to a lesser degree Didelphis show adaptations for life on the ground.