The big-eared opossum (''Didelphis aurita'') also known as a saruê is an

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

from South America. It is found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Brazil and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to ...

. This species, which was considered a population of the

common opossum The common opossum (''Didelphis marsupialis''), also called the southern or black-eared opossum or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Paci ...

(''D. marsupialis'') for some time, was originally described as ''D. azarae'' by

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temmin ...

in 1824, but this name was incorrectly given to the

white-eared opossum The white-eared opossum (''Didelphis albiventris''), known as the timbu in Brazil and comadreja overa in Argentina, is an opossum species found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is a terrestrial and, sometimes, arboreal ani ...

(''D. albiventris'') for over 160 years. As such, the name ''azarae'' has been abandoned. Due to carrying an off-spring, female Big-eared opossums tend to stay in smaller areas and reduce their movements.

References

External links

facts and pictures at Animal Diversity Web
Diogo Loretto, & Marcus Vinícius Vieira. (2005). The Effects of Reproductive and Climatic Seasons on Movements in the Black-Eared Opossum (Didelphis aurita Wied-Neuwied, 1826). Journal of Mammalogy, 86(2), 287–293. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4094347 Opossums Marsupials of South America Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Paraguay Mammals described in 1826 {{marsupial-stub