Dromiciops gliroides
| Monito del monte | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Microbiotheria |
| Family: | Microbiotheriidae |
| Genus: |
Dromiciops Thomas, 1894 |
| Species: | D. gliroides |
| Binomial name | |
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Dromiciops gliroides Thomas, 1894 |
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| Subspecies | |
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| Range of the monito del monte | |
| Synonyms | |
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Didelphys australis Goldfuss, 1812 |
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Didelphys australis Goldfuss, 1812
Dromiciops australis F. Philippi, 1893
The monito del monte (Spanish for "little monkey of the bush") or colocolo opossum,Dromiciops gliroides, also called chumaihuén in Mapudungun, is a diminutive marsupial native only to southwestern South America (Argentina and Chile). It is the only extant species in the ancient order Microbiotheria, and the sole New World representative of the superorder Australidelphia (all other New World marsupials are members of Ameridelphia). The species is nocturnal and arboreal, and lives in thickets of South American mountain bamboo in the Valdivian temperate rain forests of the southern Andes, aided by its partially prehensile tail. It eats primarily insects and other small invertebrates, supplemented with fruit.
The monito del monte is the sole extant member of the order Microbiotheria. It was first described by English zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1894. The generic name Dromiciops is based on the resemblance of the monito del monte to the eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), one of the synonyms of which is Dromicia nana. The specific name gliroides is a combination of the Latin gliris ("dormouse") and Greek oides ("similar to"). The name australis in a synonym (D. australis) refers to the southern distribution of the animal.
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