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Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Subphylum
Vertebrata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Didelphimorphia
Family
Didelphidae
Family Didelphidae
American opossums and opossums
2010/02/07 02:37:30.772 US/Eastern
By Phil Myers
Restricted to North and South America, didelphids have radiated into a wide variety of forms. Most are omnivorous or carnivorous. Several species are arboreal; one is aquatic and has fully webbed hind feet. Didelphids can be found in most habitats from sea level to over 3000m, from dry thornscrub and grassland to tropical forest. The extinct relatives of didelphids were even more varied in their morphology and habits; one group specialized as large carnivores, with one species actually resembling sabre-toothed cats, while another group apparently converged on kangaroo rats and other desert rodents.
Didelphids have a full complement of teeth (five upper and four lower incisors on each side of the jaw, one 
canine
, three
premolars
, and four
molars
). Opossums are small to medium in body size; all have five digits on fore- and hindfeet, with the first toe on the hindfoot partially opposable; all digits except the first toe on the hindfoot have claws (it has a nail). The tail is long, scaley, and prehensile in most species. Other characteristics are described under the order
Didelphimorphia
.
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Contributors
Phil Myers (author), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.
2010/02/07 02:37:30.972 US/Eastern
To cite this page:
Myers, P. 2001. "Didelphidae" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 09, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Didelphidae.html.
Disclaimer:
The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource
written largely by and for college students
. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.
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Sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative,
the Homeland Foundation and the
University of Michigan
Museum of Zoology
.
This material is based upon work supported by the
National Science Foundation
under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151.
The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support.
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