Opossums

Opossum is the common name for any of 77 marsupial mammals found only in the western hemisphere. This is the correct way of spelling the name although it has been spelled in several ways including "o'possum." The opossum ranges in length from 7 to 41 inches, including the tail, which is from 4 to 21 inches long. The common Virginia opossum (pictured left) is the largest of the opossums, measuring 43 inches, including its foot-long, hairless, prehensile (grasping) tail. The front feet have five toes with claws; on the hind feet the outer four toes bear claws, and the inmost toe is opposable, like a thumb, and nailless.

The Virginia opossum is covered with long, sleek, white hair and an undercoating of soft, woolly fur. It has a pointed, slender face and large, broad, naked ears. An opossum has 50 teeth. Most species are omnivorous, usually preferring a diet of insects and carrion. They are nocturnal, sleeping in a burrow during the day and hunting food at night; most are arboreal. The yapock, or water opossum, of South America is aquatic, having webbed hind feet for swimming.

Most species of opossum have the abdominal pouch characteristic of marsupials; however, in some South American species this pouch is rudimentary or absent. A female opossum may have as many as 17 nipples within the pouch, but 13 is the usual number. Of the 4 to 24 young that may be born in a litter, only 8 or 9 usually survive. The gestation period is about 13 days, and the newborn opossums, about the size of a bee, are quite undeveloped. They must spend about two months in the mother's pouch attached to the nipples before they are able to move about.

The Virginia opossum, found throughout the eastern United States and occasionally in the western states, is edible and considered a delicacy in the South. Opossum fur formerly had commercial value but is little used now. The name opossum is frequently shortened to possum, although the name possum is also used in reference to certain Australasian marsupials unrelated to opossums.

Playing Possum: When opossums are attacked, they will "play possum," pretending that they are dead; they remain still, do not blink, and their tongue hangs out. This act often makes the attacker lose interest in the opossum. Some of their many predators include foxes and dogs.

Classification: Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Subclass Metatheria (marsupials), Order Didelphimorphia (opossums), Family Didelphidae, Genus Didelphis, species virginiana.