post #1072706 post #1227270 post #1267880

Didelphimorphia is an order of marsupials endemic to the Americas. Members of this order are otherwise known as opossums, and their lack of specialization on top of their flexible diets and reproductive behaviors has allowed them to be successful colonizers in different, diverse locations. This group does not include the monito_del_monte, which is a member of its own order, Microbiotheria, despite being also endemic to South America. The best known member of the order, the Virginia opossum, is the only species native to the U.S. and Canada.

Note for name similarity: It comes from the Powhatan language and was borrowed from the Americas to Australia for the Australian possum. Both of these groups are otherwise very loosely related.

Families, genera, and species:

• marsupial
• didelphidae (order)
• marmosops
• bushy-tailed_opossum
• virginia_opossum
• water_opossum
• marmosa
• woolly_mouse_opossum
• monodelphis
• southern_red-sided_opossum

More information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum