Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758

Fig. 3 A Common opossum

Material examined.

Costa Rica • Puntarenas Province, Karen Mogensen Wildlife Refuge; 09°52'11"N, 085°03'28"W; 298 m alt.; 05.03.2018; direct observation .

Identification.

Medium-sized opossum, mainly nocturnal. Identified by shaggy grey guard hairs and pale underfur. The cheeks are characterised by a dirty yellow colour and its whiskers are black. The tail is longer than the head and body, black and white, with the white portion usually longer than the black one (Wainwright 2007; Astúa 2015). Common in the study area. Recorded almost in every habitat type in all seasons. A congener species ( D. virginiana Kerr, 1792) occurs in northwestern Costa Rica, and it is distinguished by a tail shorter than the head and body (Reid and Gόmez Zamora 2022 and literature therein).