Common Opossum
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| Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758 |
The Common Opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) or Manicou (so named in the Antilles)[3] is an opossum species living from the south of Mexico to Bolivia. It prefers the woods, but can also live in fields and cities.
The Common Opossum is approximatively as big as a cat. Its fine and smooth tail can mesure 50 cm. It has 50 teeth.
The Common Opossum is a nocturnal animal. During the day, it sleeps in the hollow of a tree. Its head stays under the rest of its body. It eats fruits (such as mangoes), worms, frogs, and insects but sometimes birds and eggs.
When the Common Opossum feels a danger, it emits a disagreeable smell.
The female births 5 to 9 young between 1 and 3 times the year. The new-borns are kept in the mother's pouch until they can survive on their own. Males take no part in raising the young. The Common Opossum live to the age of 2.5 years on average.
In the Antilles, people eat manicous. It is hunted during the night with a torch, which dazzles the animal. Since 17 February 1989, the species has been protected by French law.
There is some speculation that this opossum, like the armadillo and several other creatures originally from the tropics, has begun moving into the United States.[4]
The name "manicou" comes probably from a Native American language.
[edit] References
- ^ Gardner, Alfred (November 16, 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 5-6. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ New World Marsupial Specialist Group (1996). Didelphis marsupialis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ Mendes, John. 1986. Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary, p. 95.
- ^ Gehlbach, Frederick R. (2002). Messages from the Wild: An Almanac of Suburban Natural and Unnatural History. University of Texas Press, Austin, pp. 160.
