Derby's woolly opossum

Derby's woolly opossum
Inside Canopy Tower, Panama
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Caluromys
Subgenus: Mallodelphys
Species:
C. derbianus
Binomial name
Caluromys derbianus
(Waterhouse, 1841)
Range of Derby's woolly opossum
Synonyms
List
  • Didelphys derbianus Waterhouse, 1841
  • D. guayanus Thomas, 1899
  • Philander centralis Hollister, 1914

Derby's woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus), or the Central American woolly opossum,[2] is an opossum found in deciduous and moist evergreen forests of Central America, from southern Mexico to western Ecuador and Colombia. It was first described by English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse, and named in honor of Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. Derby's woolly opossum is the largest in its genus, with a total length of 60 to 70 centimetres (24 to 28 in) and weight between 200 and 400 grams (7.1 and 14.1 oz). The coat is brown and the underside white-buff to golden-brown. The opossum is nocturnal (active mainly at night), arboreal (tree-living) and solitary. Diet consists of fruits, nectar, small invertebrates and vertebrates. The time when breeding takes place varies geographically. The litter size ranges from one to six. The IUCN classifies this opossum as least concern.

  1. ^ Solari, S.; Lew, D. (2015). "Caluromys derbianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T3650A22175821. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T3650A22175821.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference reid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).