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short-tailed opossum
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short-tailed opossum

marsupial
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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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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 from red to black; some are striped dorsally, while others are unicoloured. Claws are long, and some species have front feet modified for digging. Females ...(100 of 156 words)

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