Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus

Rocha, Rita G., Ferreira, Eduardo, Costa, Barbara M. A., Martins, Iracy C. M., Leite, Yuri L. R., Costa, Leonora P. & Fonseca, Carlos, 2011, Small mammals of the mid-Araguaia River in central Brazil, with the description of a new species of climbing rat, Zootaxa 2789, pp. 1-34 : 11

Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus

Identification. It is similar to D. albiventris but has several diagnostic characters: black ears, dirty yellow head with indistinct black stripes and tail base furred for less than 20% of its length. Two color phases reported in populations of this species ( Emmons & Feer 1997) were presented in the study area, but the black phase was dominant (50 individuals) over the gray phase (18 individuals). Juveniles of D. marsupialis may have white ears with black spots, which may be confused with juveniles of D. albiventris .

Measurements (n = 68): HB = 310–460, T = 330–450, HF = 52–65, E = 48–63, W = 525–2040.

Distribution. Didelphis marsupialis is widely distributed throughout the Amazon basin and eastern Andean slopes, and its range is limited to the east and south by drier biomes, such as Caatinga, Cerrado and Chaco of Brazil and Bolivia ( Gardner 2007).

Natural history. This was one of the most abundant species in the area. Seventy-three individuals were captured (68 adults and five juveniles) in pitfalls (n = 6) and Sherman and Tomahawk traps on the ground (n = 65) and in the understory (n = 2). Despite the sympatry of D. marsupialis and D. albiventris in the area, they were almost always captured at different sampling points (Table 2). Twenty out of 31 females were carrying pouch young. Litter size varied from four to nine young and the breeding period was in the dry season during the months of August and September in both 2007 and 2008.

Vouchers (n = 1: ɗ): UFES 1264.