| Grayish mouse opossum[1] | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Didelphimorphia |
| Family: | Didelphidae |
| Genus: | Tlacuatzin Voss and Jansa, 2003 |
| Species: | T. canescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Tlacuatzin canescens (J. A. Allen, 1893) |
|
| Grayish mouse opossum range | |
The grayish mouse opossum (Tlacuatzin canescens, formerly Marmosa canescens) is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae, and is the sole member of the genus Tlacuatzin. It is endemic to Mexico from southern Sonora to Oaxaca, with populations also on the Islas Marías and in the central Yucatán Peninsula.
This opossum occupies seasonally arid habitats, especially mixed deciduous forests, up to an elevation of 2100 m. It is semiarboreal, being more terrestrial in its habits than other mouse opossums.[2] The species has a fairly omnivorous diet, consuming insects and other small animals, eggs and fruit. It builds nests, generally in forks or hollows of trees, bushes or cacti, or in rock crevices and rarely on the ground. It may also use abandoned birds' nests.[2] Breeding occurs in late summer and early autumn, with litter size ranging from 8 to 13.[2]