Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum
The Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys macrurus) is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is found in forested areas of Brazil and Paraguay.[2] It is known only from a few specimens. For two listed specimens, one had a head-and-body length of about 135 mm and a tail length of about 140 mm, while the other had a head-and-body length of about 120 mm and a tail length of about 155 mm. Most of its fur is gray, but the shoulder areas are reddish gray, and the ventral fur is pure white or creamy white. There is also a ring of black fur surrounding each eye. The ventral surface of the tail is white. The dorsal surface of the tail is gray for the first one third to one half of its length (going from the base to the tip); the remainder of the dorsal surface of the tail is white. The tail is hairless except for about its first ten mm (going from the base to the tip).[3] Although the genus Thylamys is characterized by fat storage in the tail, there is no evidence that this species stores fat in its tail.[4]
| Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum[1] | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Didelphimorphia |
| Family: | Didelphidae |
| Genus: | Thylamys |
| Species: | T. macrurus |
| Binomial name | |
| Thylamys macrurus (Olfers, 1818) | |
 | |
| Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum range | |
References
- Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- de la Sancha, N. & Teta, P. (2011). "Thylamys macrurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Eisenberg, John Frederick; Redford, Kent Hubbard (1999). Mammals of the Neotropics: The Central Neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil. University of Chicago Press. p. 624. ISBN 978-0-226-19542-1.
- Gardner, Alfred L. (2008). Mammals of South America: Marsupials, xenarthrans, shrews, and bats. University of Chicago Press. p. 669. ISBN 978-0-226-28240-4.