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short-tailed opossum
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short-tailed opossum

marsupial
Also known as: Monodelphis, short-tailed possum
Written by
Alfred L. Gardner
Curator, New World Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Wildlife Biologist, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Laurel,...
Alfred L. Gardner
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

short-tailed opossum, (genus Monodelphis), any of more than 20 species of small, mouse- and shrew-sized, insectivorous and carnivorous, terrestrial opossums (family Didelphidae, subfamily Didelphinae, tribe Marmosini). Total length varies from about 11 cm (4.5 inches) in the smaller species to over 28 cm (11 inches) in the larger. The genus is known from eastern Panama (one species) and throughout South America from the Andes eastward and south to central Argentina. Short-tailed opossums vary in colour...

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