The white-eared opossum (''Didelphis albiventris''), known as the timbu and cassaco in northeast Brazil, saruê and sariguê in Bahia, micurê and mucura in northern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and comadreja overa in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, 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 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...

species found in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. It is a terrestrial and, sometimes,

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

animal, and a habitat generalist, living in a wide range of different habitats. For some time, this species was incorrectly known by the name ''D. azarae'', correctly applied to the big-eared opossum. This led to ''azaraes discontinuation as a species name. From 1993 until 2002, this species also included the Guianan white-eared opossum (''D. imperfecta'') and the Andean white-eared opossum (''D. pernigra'') as subspecies. It is the team mascot of Clube Náutico Capibaribe, a Brazilian football team from

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Description

The white-eared opossum is about one to three pounds in weight and has black and grey fur, with white hair covering their ears and face, and dark hair on their long tails. They are omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates, small vertebrates, and fruits.

Distribution and habitat

White-eared opossums inhabit open areas, mountains, and deciduous forests and are commonly found in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, the Andes, and humid forests of Guyana, Suriname, and southern Venezuela. These areas have disparate environmental characteristics such as rainfall, humidity, water balance and temperature. The white-eared opossum often changes its habitat depending on its breeding season. Usually populations are higher in the wetter seasons when the young are weaned and begin venturing out for food. Though normally solitary and nomadic, some will group together in burrows, holes, empty garbage or even under houses.

Diet and seed dispersal

South American opossums mainly consume invertebrates such as

beetles Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

, diplopods, and

opiliones The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an Order (biology), order of arachnids, Common name, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs (see below). , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered w ...

, together with fruit and vertebrates like small birds, mammals, fossorial snakes, and fish. The composition of the diet changes with the seasons and as the animal ages. During the dry season, older opossums prefer to consume vertebrates. On the other hand, the younger opossums consume more invertebrates and fruits during the wet season. These relatively small differences in diet can favour the survival of younger opossums during the wet season because they avoid competition with older animals. The diet of white-eared opossums also makes them effective seed dispersers. Younger opossums consume smaller fruits than older opossums, so usually the adult opossums disperse larger seeds. However, proportionally, smaller seeds have more chance to pass through the gut without damage. Seeds that have commonly been associated in the diet amongst white-eared opossums are from the fruits of ''Morus nigra, Vassobia breviflora, Rubus rosifolius, Solanum sanctaecatharinae,'' and ''Passiflora actinia.'' Fecal analysis reveals that these seeds are viable for germination after the passage through the digestive tract, making the white-eared opossum an adequate vector for seed dispersal.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q194685 Opossums Opossum, White-eared Opossum, White-eared Marsupials of Argentina Marsupials of Bolivia Marsupials of Brazil Mammals of Paraguay Mammals of Uruguay Mammals described in 1840 Taxa named by Peter Wilhelm Lund