Mexican mouse opossum

Mexican mouse opossum[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Marmosa
Species: M. mexicana
Binomial name
Marmosa mexicana
Merriam, 1897
Mexican mouse opossum range

The Mexican mouse opossum (Marmosa mexicana) is a species of Central American opossum in the family Didelphidae.

Contents

Range

It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, eastern Mexico as far north as Tamaulipas, Nicaragua, and western Panama at elevations from sea level up to 3000 m (at Volcán Tacaná); most commonly, it is found below 1800 m.[2]

Habitat

This opossum is found in primary and secondary forest, including lowland tropical rainforest, dry deciduous forest, cloud forest, and plantations, as well as in grassland.[2] An example of its habitat is the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán.[3]

Habits

The species is primarily arboreal; it is found from ground level to heights of 30 m in the canopy. It is nocturnal and solitary. Its diet includes insects and fruit. It is believed to construct nests either in burrows or above ground.[2]

References

  1. ^ Gardner, Alfred (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 9. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ a b c d Cuarón, A. D., Emmons, L., Helgen, K. & Reid, F. (2008). Marmosa mexicana. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  3. ^ World Wildlife Fund. 2010. Petenes mangroves. eds. Mark McGinley, C.Michael Hogan & C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC