Gray Short-tailed Opossum

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Gray Short-tailed Opossum^[1]

Conservation status

Least concern ^[2]

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Didelphimorphia
Family:	Didelphidae
Subfamily:	Didelphinae
Genus:	Monodelphis
Species:	M. domestica

Binomial name

'''Monodelphis domestica'''
(Wagner, 1842)

The Gray Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis domestica) is a small member of the Didelphidae family of opossums. It is naturally found in South America, in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. The opossum is used as research model in science, and is also frequently found in the exotic pet trade. It is also known as the Brazilian Opossum, Rainforest Opossum and in a clinical setting the Laboratory opossum.

The gray short-tailed opossum possesses several features that make in ideal research model particularly in studies of marsupials, as well as the immunological and developmental research on mammalian systems. It breeds relatively easily in laboratory settings and neonates are exposed and can be readily accessed because, unlike other marsupial species, females opossums lack a pouch. Opossums are born at stage that is approximately equivalent to 13-15-day old fetal rats or 40-day old human embryos. Like other marsupials, the inadequacies of the neonates immune system function make it an ideal model for both tranplant and cancer research, as well as general investigations into immune system development^[3]

[edit] References

^ Gardner, Alfred (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 14. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
^ New World Marsupial Specialist Group (1996). Monodelphis domestica. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
^ Zhiquang Wang; Gene B. Hubbard, Sen Pathak, and John L. VandeBerg (October 2003). "In vivo opossu xenograft model for cancer research". Cancer Research 63: 6121-6124. PMID 14559788. .