White-eared opossum

White-eared opossum
White-eared Opossum[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Didelphis
Species: D. albiventris
Binomial name
Didelphis albiventris
Lund, 1840
White-eared Opossum range

The White-eared Opossum (Didelphis albiventris) is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.[3]

It is a terrestrial and, sometimes, arboreal animal, and a habitat generalist, living in a wide range of different habitats. It's an omnivorous animal, feeding on invertebrates, small vertebrates, fruits and plants.[3]

For some time, this species was incorrectly known by the name D. azarae, correctly applied to the Big-eared Opossum. This led to azarae's discontinuation as a species name.[1]

From 1993 until 2002, this species also included the Guianan White-eared Opossum (D. imperfecta) and the Andean White-eared Opossum (D. pernigra) as subspecies.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Gardner, Alfred L. (16 November 2005). "Order Didelphimorphia (pp. 3-18)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=10400038. 
  2. ^ Costa, L., Astua de Moraes, D., Brito, D., Soriano, P., Lew, D. & Delgado, C. (2008). Didelphis albiventris. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
  3. ^ a b Eisenberg, John F., Redford, Kent H. (2000). Mammals of the Neotropics: Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil.