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 from
South America. It is found in
Argentina,
Brazil and
Paraguay.
[
This species, which was considered a population of the common opossum (''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 people, Dutch Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, Zoology, zoologist and museum director.
Biography
Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dut ...
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, arbo ...
(''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
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