McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum (''Philander mcilhennyi'') is a South American

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 ...

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 ...

. Found in Brazil and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, it is almost entirely black, except for white spots above each eye. This species is named for John Stauffer "Jack" McIlhenny (1909-1997), a grandson of the founder of the

McIlhenny Company McIlhenny or McElhenny is an Irish surname commonly found in Donegal and Derry. They are a Sept of the Cenel Eogain race, son of Niall high king of Ireland. In Gaelic the name translates "servant of Saint Canice". Notable people with the surname in ...

, maker of

Tabasco sauce Tabasco is an American brand of hot sauce made from vinegar, tabasco peppers ('' Capsicum frutescens'' var. ''tabasco''), and salt. It is produced by McIlhenny Company of Avery Island in south Louisiana, having been created over 150 years ago ...

. He funded the 1968

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

expedition that discovered the species.

References

External links

*John F. Eisenberg and Kent H. Redford, 2000. Mammals of Neotropics: Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. *Maggie Heyn Richardson, "Rara avis", ''Imagine Louisiana'' magazine, Spring 2007, pp. 46–48. Opossums Marsupials of South America Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Peru Mammals described in 1972 {{marsupial-stub