The southeastern four-eyed opossum (''Philander frenatus'') is an
opossum species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...
native to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
.
It is found in
Atlantic Forest ecoregions, in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
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 th ...
and
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 ...
.
Description
It is a large dark gray opossum.
Dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to:
* Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism
* Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage
* Dorsal c ...
fur is dark gray, and the fur on the sides is also gray, but lighter than the dorsal fur. The
ventral
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
fur is white or cream-colored. The hairs on the throat have gray bases, but are divided in two by a cream-colored vertical stripe going along the midline of the throat. Its fur is short. Its tail is dark brown or black for its entire length.
References
*John F. Eisenberg and Kent H. Redford, 2000
Mammals of the Neotropics: Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil
Opossums
Opossum, Southeastern Four-eyed
Opossum, Southeastern Four-eyed
Mammals of Argentina
Mammals of Brazil
Mammals of Paraguay
Mammals described in 1818
Taxa named by Ignaz von Olfers
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