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American Heritage Dictionary:

o·pos·sum

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(ə-pŏs'əm, pŏs'əm) pronunciation
n., pl., opossum, or -sums.
  1. Any of various nocturnal, usually arboreal marsupials of the family Didelphidae, especially Didelphis marsupialis of the Western Hemisphere, having a thick coat of hair, a long snout, and a long prehensile tail. See Regional Note at possum.
  2. Any of several similar marsupials of Australia belonging to the family Phalangeridae.

[Virginia Algonquian.]

WORD HISTORY   The word opossum takes us back to the earliest days of the American colonies. The settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, was founded in 1607 by the London Company, chartered for the planting of colonies. Even though the first years were difficult, promotional literature was glowing. In one such piece, A True Declaration of the Estate of the Colonie in Virginia, published in 1610, we find this passage: "There are ... Apossouns, in shape like to pigges." This is the first recorded use of opossum, although in a spelling that differs from the one later settled on to reproduce the sound of the Virginia Algonquian word from which our word came. The word opossum and its shortened form possum, first recorded in 1613 in more promotional literature, remind us of a time when the New World was still very new, settlers were few, and the inhabitants for whom the New World was not new were plentiful.


Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

opossum

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Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis).
(click to enlarge)
Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis). (credit: Robert J. Ellison — The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)
Any of about 66 species (family Didelphidae) of New World, mostly arboreal, nocturnal marsupials. Highly adaptable and prolific, opossums have changed little in millions of years. The North American species, the stout-bodied common, or Virginia, opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), grows to 40 in. (100 cm) long. It is largely white and has an opposable clawless toe on each hind foot; with its long, hairless, prehensile tail, it resembles a large rat. Up to 25 grublike, 0.07-oz (2-g) newborns compete for the 13 nipples in the pouch, where the survivors spend four or five weeks; they spend the following eight to nine weeks clinging to the mother's back. The common opossum may feign death (play possum) if surprised. It eats small animals, insects, and fruit, and sometimes domestic poultry and cultivated grain. possum.

For more information on opossum, visit Britannica.com.

McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia:

Opossum

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Any member of the family Didelphidae in the order Marsupialia which includes about 65 species found in the New World. These mammals are arboreal and are mainly omnivorous.

The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) is an extremely adaptable mammal that ranges from Argentina through Central America into the United States. The uterine gestation period is quite short, about 12 days, and the young are born no larger than a bee. They then make their way through the mother's fur to the pouch (marsupium), where they remain and continue to develop for as long as 100 days. There may be two litters of 9–12 each year. The opossum is a sedentary animal and the adults, living in solitary pairs, rarely leave their territory. See also Marsupialia.

Houghton Mifflin Word Origins:

opossum

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Origin: 1610

In 1610, to encourage their supporters back home, members of the Virginia Company caused to be printed in London a pamphlet called A True Declaration of the Estate of the Colony in Virginia. This gives the first mention in print of creatures they called "Apossouns, in shape like to pigges." Like Raccoon (1609), opossum is a borrowing from an Algonquian Indian language.


Columbia Encyclopedia:

opossum

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opossum (əpŏs'əm, pŏs'-), name for several marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Didelphidae, native to Central and South America, with one species extending N to the United States. With the exception of an obscure group found in South American forests, opossums are the only living marsupials outside the Australia-New Guinea region. Extremely abundant despite the encroachment of civilization and apparently little changed over millions of years, they owe their success to their adaptability, omnivorous diet, and rapid reproductive rate. Opossums are more or less arboreal, nocturnal animals, with long noses, naked ears, prehensile tails, and opposable hind toes tipped with flat pads. They eat small animals, eggs, insects, and fruit. The common, or Virginia, opossum, Didelphis marsupialis, ranges from Argentina to the N United States; it is found mostly in wooded areas and is common in the SE United States. The common opossum resembles a large rat, with a white face and long, coarse fur of mixed white-tipped and black-tipped hairs. It spends time both in trees and on the ground and makes nests of leaves, usually in holes in trees. When frightened it goes into a state of collapse; this involuntary "playing possum" sometimes saves it from predators, who lose interest in an apparently dead animal. The female usually has the typical marsupial pouch, although it is absent in some of the South American species. The 6 to 18 young are born after a gestation of 12 days and weigh 1/15 oz. (1.9 grams); they crawl through the mother's fur to the pouch where they are carried and nursed for three months. After emerging, they ride on the mother's back, clinging to her fur or tail with their own tails. Because it raids domestic poultry and corn, the opossum is hunted in the South as a pest, as well as for food and sport. Among the other opossum species are the tiny mouse opossums (Marmosa species) and the yapok, or water opossum (Chironectes minimus), which has webbed feet and leads a semiaquatic existence. The yapok ranges from Guatemala to Brazil. Opossums are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Marsupialia, family Didelphidae.

Bibliography

See study by J. F. Keefe (1967).

Sign Language Videos:

opossum

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sign description: The sign ANIMAL is done followed by the X-hand slide down the horizontal index finger.



Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:

opossum

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A cat-sized, arboreal, insectivorous and carnivorous marsupial with dense, black through every shade to white, fur with a pointed snout, bare prehensile tail and a noted ability to play dead when in danger—hence playing ‘possum. Called also American or Virginian opossum, Didelphis virginiana.

Random House Word Menu:

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Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Opossum

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For other uses of "Opossum", see Opossum (disambiguation).
For the Eastern Hemisphere marsupial, see possum.
Didelphimorphia[1]
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Recent
Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Gill, 1872
Family: Didelphidae
Gray, 1821
Genera

Several; see text

Opossums (colloquially possums)(Didelphimorphia, /daɪˌdɛlfɨˈmɔrfiə/) make up the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, including 103 or more species in 19 genera. They are also commonly called possums, though that term technically refers to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginia opossum was the first animal to be named an opossum; usage of the name was published in 1610.[2] The word opossum was borrowed from the Virginia Algonquian (Powhattan) language in the form aposoum and ultimately derives from the Proto-Algonquian word *wa˙p- aʔθemw]], meaning "white dog" or "white beast/ animal".[3] Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene.

Their unspecialized biology, flexible diet and reproductive strategy make them successful colonizers and survivors in diverse locations and conditions.[citation needed]

Contents

Characteristics

Didelphimorphs are small to medium-sized marsupials, with the largest just exceeding the size of a large house cat, and the smallest the size of a small mouse. They tend to be semi-arboreal omnivores, although there are many exceptions. Most members of this taxon have long snouts, a narrow braincase, and a prominent sagittal crest. The dental formula is: Upper: 5.1.3.4, lower: 4.1.3.4. By mammalian standards, this is a very full jaw. The incisors are very small, the canines large, and the molars are tricuspid.

Didelphimorphs have a plantigrade stance (feet flat on the ground) and the hind feet have an opposable digit with no claw. Like some New World monkeys, opossums have prehensile tails. Like all marsupials, the fur consists of awn hair only, and the females have a pouch. The tail and parts of the feet bear scutes. The stomach is simple, with a small cecum.

Opossums have a remarkably robust immune system, and show partial or total immunity to the venom of rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and other pit vipers.[4][5] Opossums are about eight times less likely to carry rabies than wild dogs, and about one in eight hundred opossums are infected with this virus.[6]

Reproduction and life cycle

Sleeping Virginia opossum with babies in her relaxed pouch

As a marsupial, the opossum has a reproductive system including a divided uterus and marsupium, which is the pouch.[7] Opossums do possess a placenta,[8] but it is short-lived, simple in structure, and, unlike that of placental mammals, is not fully functional.[9] The young are therefore born at a very early stage, although the gestation period is similar to many other small marsupials, at only 12 to 14 days.[10] Once born, the offspring must find their way into the marsupium to hold onto and nurse from a teat. The species are moderately sexually dimorphic with males usually being slightly larger, much heavier, and having larger canines than females.[11] The largest difference between the opossum and other mammals is the bifurcated penis of the male and bifurcated vagina of the female (the source of the Latin "didelphis," meaning double-wombed). Opossum spermatozoa exhibit sperm-pairing, forming conjugate pairs in the epidydimis. This may ensure that flagella movement can be accurately coordinated for maximal motility. Conjugate pairs dissociate into separate spermatozoa before fertilization.[12]

Female opossums often give birth to very large numbers of young, most of which fail to attach to a teat, although as many as thirteen young can attach,[11] and therefore survive, depending on species. The young are weaned between 70 and 125 days, when they detach from the teat and leave the pouch. The opossum lifespan is unusually short for a mammal of its size, usually only two to four years. Senescence is rapid.[13]

Diet

Didelphimorphs are opportunistic omnivores with a very broad diet. Their diet mainly consists of carrion and many individual opossums are killed on the highway when scavenging for roadkill. They are also known to eat insects, frogs, birds, snakes, small mammals, slugs, and earthworms. Some of their favorite foods are fruits, and they are known to eat avocados, apples, clementines, and persimmons. Their broad diet allows them to take advantage of many sources of food provided by human habitation such as unsecured food waste (garbage) and pet food.

Opossum fur is quite soft.

Behavior

A Virginia opossum inhabiting a piano in Houston, Texas, shortly before its release
"Playing possum"

Opossums are usually solitary and nomadic, staying in one area as long as food and water are easily available. Some families will group together in ready-made burrows or even under houses. Though they will temporarily occupy abandoned burrows, they do not dig or put much effort into building their own. As nocturnal animals, they favor dark, secure areas. These areas may be below ground or above.

When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. This physiological response is involuntary (like fainting), rather than a conscious act. In the case of baby opossums, however, the brain does not always react this way at the appropriate moment, and therefore they often fail to "play dead" when threatened. When "playing possum", the animal's lips are drawn back, the teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth, the eyes close or half-close, and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal glands. Their stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away without reaction.[citation needed] The animal will typically regain consciousness after a period of between 40 minutes and 4 hours, a process which begins with slight twitchings of the ears.[14]

Juvenile opossum hissing defensively.

Adult opossums do not hang from trees by their tails, as sometimes depicted, though babies may dangle temporarily. Their semi-prehensile tails are not strong enough to support a mature adult's weight. Instead, the opossum uses its tail as a brace and a fifth limb when climbing. The tail is occasionally used as a grip to carry bunches of leaves or bedding materials to the nest. A mother will sometimes carry her young upon her back, where they will cling tightly even when she is climbing or running.

Threatened opossums (especially males) will growl deeply, raising their pitch as the threat becomes more urgent. Males make a clicking "smack" noise out of the side of their mouths as they wander in search of a mate, and females will sometimes repeat the sound in return. When separated or distressed, baby opossums will make a sneezing noise to signal their mother. If threatened, the baby will open its mouth and quietly hiss until the threat is gone.

Hissing or squawking is a defensive process that helps the opossum deter other animals from approaching it.

In hunting and foodways

The Virginia Opossum was once widely hunted and consumed in the United States.[15][16][17]

In Dominica, Grenada, and Trinidad the Common Opossum or manicou is popular[citation needed] and can only be hunted during certain times of the year owing to over-hunting. The meat is traditionally prepared by smoking, then stewing. It is light and fine-grained, but the musk glands must be removed as part of preparation. The meat can be used in place of rabbit and chicken in recipes. Historically, hunters in the Caribbean would place a barrel with fresh or rotten fruit to attract opossums that would feed on the fruit or insects.

In Mexico, opossums are known as "tlacuache" or "tlaquatzin". Their tails are eaten as a folk remedy to improve fertility.

Opossum oil (possum grease) is high in essential fatty acids and has been used as a chest rub and a carrier for arthritis remedies given as topical salves.

Opossum pelts have long been part of the fur trade.

Classification

A gray and black four-eyed opossum

References

  1. ^ a b 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. 3–18. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000. Houghton Mifflin Company. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2010-09-12. Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-03.
  3. ^ Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged . 2003. HarperCollins Publishers. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2010-09-12. Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-03.
  4. ^ "The Opossum: Our Marvelous Marsupial, The Social Loner". Wildlife Rescue League. http://www.wildliferescueleague.org/report/opossum.html. 
  5. ^ Journal Of Venomous Animals And Toxins – Anti-Lethal Factor From Opossum Serum Is A Potent Antidote For Animal, Plant And Bacterial Toxins. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  6. ^ Cantor SB, Clover RD, Thompson RF (07/01/1994). "A decision-analytic approach to postexposure rabies prophylaxis". Am J Public Health 84 (7): 1144–8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.84.7.1144. PMC 1614738. PMID 8017541. http://www.ajph.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=8017541. Retrieved 2009-12-29. 
  7. ^ Campbell, N. & Reece, J. (2005)BiologyPearson Education Inc.
  8. ^ Enders, A.C. & Enders, R.K. (2005). "The placenta of the four-eyed opossum (Philander opossum))". The Anatomical Record 165 (3): 431–439. doi:10.1002/ar.1091650311. 
  9. ^ Krause, W.J. & Cutts, H. (1985). "Placentation in the Opossum, Didelphis virginiana". Acta Anatomica 123 (3): 156–171. doi:10.1159/000146058. PMID 4061035. 
  10. ^ O'Connell, Margaret A. (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 830–837. ISBN 0-87196-871-1. 
  11. ^ a b North American Mammals: Didelphis virginiana. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  12. ^ Moore, H.D. (1996). "Gamete biology of the new world marsupial, the grey short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica". Reproduction, fertility, and development 8 (4): 605–15. doi:10.1071/RD9960605. 
  13. ^ Opossum Facts. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  14. ^ Found an Orphaned or injured Opossum?. Opossumsocietyus.org. Retrieved on 2012-05-03.
  15. ^ Keith Sutton. Possum days gone by. ESPN Outdoors. January 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  16. ^ Wild Game Recipes online. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  17. ^ The joy of the ‘Joy of Cooking,’ circa 1962. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  18. ^ Lew, Daniel; Roger Pérez-Hernández, Jacint Ventura (2006). "Two new species of Philander (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) from northern South America". Journal of Mammalogy 87 (2): 224–237. doi:10.1644/05-MAMM-A-065R2.1. 
  19. ^ David A. Flores, DA, Barqueza, RM, and Díaza, MM (2008). "A new species of Philander Brisson, 1762 (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)". Mammalian Biology 73 (1): 14–24. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2007.04.002. 
  20. ^ a b Pavan, Silvia Eliza; Rossi, Rogerio Vieira; Schneider, Horacio (2012). "Species diversity in the Monodelphis brevicaudata complex (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) inferred from molecular and morphological data, with the description of a new species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 165: 190. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00791.x. 
  21. ^ Flores, D. & Solari, S. 2011. Monodelphis handleyi. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2.
  22. ^ Voss, Robert S.; Pine, Ronald H.; Solari, Sergio (2012). "A New Species of the Didelphid Marsupial Genus Monodelphis from Eastern Bolivia". American Museum Novitates 3740 (3740): 1. doi:10.1206/3740.2. 
  23. ^ Flores, D. & Teta, P. 2011. Thylamys citellus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2.
  24. ^ Flores, D. & Martin, G.M. 2011. Thylamys fenestrae. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2.
  25. ^ Flores, D. & Martin, G.M. 2011. Thylamys pulchellus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2.

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Didelphidae
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Didelphis virginiana
Extant mammal orders by infraclass
Australosphenida
Metatheria
(Marsupial inclusive)
Eutheria
(Placental inclusive)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Translations:

Opossum

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - opossum, pungrotte

Nederlands (Dutch)
buidelrat

Français (French)
n. - opossum

Deutsch (German)
n. - Opossum, Beutelratte

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) δίδελφυς, μαρσιπόμυς

Italiano (Italian)
opossum

Português (Portuguese)
n. - gambá (m)

Русский (Russian)
опоссум

Español (Spanish)
n. - zarigüeya

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - opossum, pungråtta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
负鼠

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 負鼠

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주머니쥐

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - オポッサム, フクロネズミ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حيوان أمريكي له جراب ( يشبه السنجاب)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אופוסום (חיית-כיס)‬

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American Heritage Dictionary The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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Houghton Mifflin Word Origins America in So Many Words, by David K.Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
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Columbia Encyclopedia The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
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Saunders Veterinary Dictionary Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more
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Random House Word Menu © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
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