Animals Mammals

Virginia Opossum

SCIENTIFIC NAME:

Didelphis virginiana

PROFILE:

Opossums are the only marsupials found in North America! Marsupials are mammals characterized by a distinctive pouch where females carry their underdeveloped young through early infancy. If an opossum becomes threatened by a more powerful opponent, it will often play dead.

TYPE OF ANIMAL:

mammal, marsupialia (marsupial)

NATIVE TO:

western, central and eastern USA, Mexico, Central America; native to Texas

IUCN CONSERVATION STATUS:

least concern

DIET:

omnivore

LIFESPAN:

zoos - up to 6+ years

SOCIAL STATUS:

females tend to live in groups