Brown Four-eyed Opossum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brown Four-eyed Opossum[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||||
| Metachirus nudicaudatus (É. Geoffroy, 1803) |
The Brown Four-eyed Opossum (Metachirus nudicaudatus) is a pouchless marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is found in different forested habitats of Central and South America,[2] from Nicaragua and to Paraguay and northern Argentina.[1] It is the only species in the genus Metachirus.[1]
It is a strongly nocturnal, terrestrial and omnivorous animal, feeding on fruits, small vertebrates and invertebrates.
The Brown Four-eyed Opossum builds nests made of leaves and twigs in tree branches or under rocks and logs. It is seasonally polyestrous and the litter size varies from one to nine.
There are five recognized subspecies of this opossum:[1]
- Metachirus nudicaudatus nudicaudatus
- Metachirus nudicaudatus colombianus
- Metachirus nudicaudatus modestus
- Metachirus nudicaudatus myosuros
- Metachirus nudicaudatus tschudii
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d 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, 12. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ a b New World Marsupial Specialist Group (1996). Metachirus nudicaudatus. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2007. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
 |
This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations. |
- John F. Eisenberg and Kent H. Redford, 2000. Mammals of Neotropics: Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil.
- Animal Diversity Web
 |
This article about a marsupial is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
