The nine species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Philander'', commonly known as gray and black four-eyed opossums, are members of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Didelphimorphia Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...

. Mature females have a well-developed marsupium. The tail appears to be hairless except for the proximal (closest to the body) 5 or 6 cm, which has a few long hairs. The tail is slightly longer than the head-and-body length, and it is black for the proximal one half to two thirds of its length. The genus is closely related to ''

Didelphis ''Didelphis'' is a genus of New World marsupials. The six species in the genus ''Didelphis'', commonly known as Large American opossums, are members of the ''opossum'' order (biology), order, Didelphimorphia. The genus ''Didelphis'' is composed ...

'' but the species of ''Philander'' are smaller than those of ''Didelphis''. The genus formerly included ''Metachirus nudicaudatus'', but this species lacks a pouch and so is now considered a separate genus. The common name comes from the white spots above the eyes, which can appear from a distance to be another set of eyes.

Species

*'' Philander andersoni'' - Anderson's four-eyed opossum *'' Philander canus'' - Common four-eyed opossum *'' Philander deltae'' - Deltaic four-eyed opossum *'' Philander mcilhennyi'' - McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum *'' Philander melanurus'' - Dark four-eyed opossum *'' Philander nigratus'' - Black four-eyed opossum *'' Philander opossum'' - Gray four-eyed opossum *'' Philander pebas'' - Pebas four-eyed opossum *'' Philander quica'' - Southern four-eyed opossum *'' Philander vossi'' - Northern four-eyed opossum The following three species are recognized by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

and

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

but not by the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence ...

. ''P. frenatus'' is considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of ''Philander opossum'', and the latter two are

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

s of ''Philander canus''. *'' Philander frenatus'' - Southeastern four-eyed opossum *'' Philander mondolfii'' - Mondolfi's four-eyed opossum *'' Philander olrogi'' - Olrog's four-eyed opossum

References

Opossums Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson {{marsupial-stub