Short-tailed opossum
| Short-tailed opossums | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gray Short-tailed Opossum Monodelphis domestica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Didelphimorphia |
| Family: | Didelphidae |
| Subfamily: | Didelphinae |
| Genus: | Monodelphis Burnett, 1830 |
| Type species | |
| Monodelphis brachyura Burnett, 1830 | |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
Monodelphis is a genus of marsupials in the family Didelphidae, commonly referred to as short-tailed opossums. They are found throughout South America. The most recently described species are Monodelphis arlindoi Pavan, Rossi & Schneider, 2012, Monodelphis sanctaerosae Voss, Pine & Solari, 2012 and Monodelphis gardneri Solari et al., 2012, with reinstatement of Monodelphis touan (Shaw, 1800).
Species
- Sepia Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis adusta)
- Northern Three-striped Opossum (Monodelphis americana)
- Northern Red-sided Opossum (Monodelphis brevicaudata)
- Yellow-sided Opossum (Monodelphis dimidiata)
- Gray Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
- Emilia's Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis emiliae)
- Amazonian Red-sided Opossum (Monodelphis glirina)
- Ihering's Three-striped Opossum (Monodelphis iheringi)
- Pygmy Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis kunsi)
- Marajó Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis maraxina)
- Osgood's Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis osgoodi)
- Hooded Red-sided Opossum (Monodelphis palliolata)
- Reig's Opossum (Monodelphis reigi)
- Ronald's Opossum (Monodelphis ronaldi)
- Chestnut-striped Opossum (Monodelphis rubida)
- Long-nosed Short-tailed Opossum (Monodelphis scalops)
- Southern Red-sided Opossum (Monodelphis sorex)
- Southern Three-striped Opossum (Monodelphis theresa)
- Red Three-striped Opossum (Monodelphis umbristriata)
- One-striped Opossum (Monodelphis unistriata)
Speciation is based on fur coloration with additional details coming from differences in the skull and teeth. [1]
Conservation status
M. sorex and M. rubida are considered to be endangered. M. dimidiata is unusual in that it is a semelparous species, something rarely seen in mammals (found predominately in smaller didelphids and dasyurids).
Reproductive Development
Since the Monodelphis genus are marsupials, such as the Kangaroos and Koala, they are born under developed and then further mature in the pouch of the mother. Another genus in the subfamily is the Didelphis or Large American Opossum, which was thought to have a similar reproductive development as the Monodelphis genus, but they do differ in their weaning periods. In the Monodelphis, the young first come off the teat in 12 days where as the Didelphis comes off at 48 days. For most of the events in this process, the Didelphis will complete it in about 2-4 weeks later than the Monodelphis. This may also explain why the species of Monodelphis do not live as long as other marsupials who are weaned for a longer period. [2]
- ↑ Solari, Sergio. A Molecular Perspective on the Diversification of Short-Tailed Opossums (Monodelphis: Didelphidae). Mastozoología Neotropica 17.2 (2010): 317-33. Scientific Electronic Library Online.
- ↑ Smith, K.K., "Comparative Rates of Development in Monodelphis and Didelphis”, Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, 1997.
References
- Know Your Short-tailed Opossum: Monodelphis
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System
- Gardner, A. L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 13–16. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
External links
Data related to Monodelphis at Wikispecies