Water opossum

Not to be confused with Chirodectes.

Water opossum
Chironectes minimus
Taxidermy, Swedish Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Subfamily: Didelphinae
Tribe: Didelphini
Genus: Chironectes
Illiger, 1811
Species:
C. minimus
Binomial name
Chironectes minimus
(Zimmermann, 1780)
Water opossum range
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Latra minima Zimmermann, 1780
  • Lutra memina Boddaert, 1784
  • Chironectes memina (Boddaert, 1784)
  • Mustela (Lutra) paraguensis Kerr, 1792
  • Mustela (Lutra) guianensis Kerr, 1792
  • Lutra gujanensis Link, 1795
  • Lutra saricovienna G. Shaw, 1800
  • Mustela cayennensis Turton, 1800
  • Didelphis palmata Daudin, 1802
  • Chironectes palmata (Daudin, 1820)
  • Lutra memia Desmarest, 1803
  • Lutra memmina Desmarest, 1804
  • Didelphis memmina (Desmarest, 1804)
  • Sarigua memmina (Desmarest, 1804)
  • Chironectes variegatus Illiger, 1815 nomen nudum
  • Didelphis lutreola Oken, 1816
  • Chironectes variegatus Olfers, 1818
  • Chironectes yapok Desmarest, 1820
  • Chironectes langsdorffi Boitard, 1842
  • Chironectes panamensis Goldman, 1914
  • Chironectes menima bresslaui Pohle, 1927
  • Chironectes argyrodytes Dickey, 1928

The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (/ˈjæpɒk/), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae.[3] It is the only monotypic species of its genus, Chironectes.[4] This semiaquatic creature is found in and near freshwater streams and lakes from Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina and is the most aquatic living marsupial (the lutrine opossum also has semiaquatic habits). It is also the only extant marsupial species in which both sexes have a pouch. The now extinct thylacine, commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, also exhibited this trait.[5]

The local name for the water opossum, "yapok", may come from the name of the Oyapock River in French Guiana.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Pérez-Hernandez, R.; Brito, D.; Tarifa, T.; Cáceres, N.; Lew, D.; Solari, S. (2016). "Chironectes minimus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T4671A22173467. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T4671A22173467.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gardner, Alfred L. (2007). Mammals of South America Volume 1 Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats. Chicago 60637: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-28240-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ * 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. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Water-opossum" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 384.
  5. ^ "National Museum of Australia - Extinction of thylacine".