Black-shouldered opossum
| Black-shouldered opossum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Didelphimorphia |
| Family: | Didelphidae |
| Subfamily: | Caluromyinae |
| Genus: |
Caluromysiops Sanborn, 1951 |
| Species: | C. irrupta |
| Binomial name | |
|
Caluromysiops irrupta Sanborn, 1951 |
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| Black-shouldered opossum range | |
The black-shouldered opossum (Caluromysiops irrupta), also known as the white-eared opossum is an opossum known from western Brazil and southeastern Peru. It was first described by Colin Campbell Sanborn, curator of Field Museum of Natural History, in 1951. The black-shouldered opossum is characterized by a gray coat, gray underbelly, and broad black stripes that extend from the forefeet, meet on the shoulders, run along the midline of the back and then split into parallel stripes that run down the hindfeet. Little is known of the behavior of the black-shouldered opossum. It is nocturnal (active mainly at night) and arboreal (tree-living); it is known to feed on fruits and rodents. The opossum inhabits humid forests. The IUCN classifies it as least concern.
The black-shouldered opossum is the sole member of Caluromysiops, and is placed in the family Didelphidae. It was first described by Colin Campbell Sanborn, curator of Field Museum of Natural History, in 1951. No subspecies are recognized.
The cladogram below, based on a 2016 study, shows the phylogenetic relationships of the brown-eared woolly opossum.
Bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia venusta)
Black-shouldered opossum (Caluromyopsis irrupta)
Derby's woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus)
Bare-tailed woolly opossum (Caluromys philander)
Brown-eared woolly opossum (Caluromys lanatus)
...
Wikipedia