Handley's short-tailed opossum (''Monodelphis handleyi'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of mammal in the family Didelphidae. It is only known to exist in its type locality in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and more recently in

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 ...

Taxonomy

The holotype for the species was caught by Jessica Amanzo on February 5, 1997, in Peru. The species is named after Charles O. Handley, Jr. to honor his contribution to the study of

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

mammals.

Description

The opossum is medium-sized and robust. It has short dorsal fur with the hair having pale gray bases and brown tips. It has dull cream underparts with a pale midventral stripe. It has a brownish head and rump, with short, white

whiskers Whiskers, also known as vibrissae (; vibrissa; ) are a type of stiff, functional hair used by most therian mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser as ta ...

. A yellowish to orange throat gland is present. The pinnae are uniformly brown and are furless. It has short, robust limbs.

Distribution and habitat

The opossum is known only from Peru and Brazil. The specimens were caught swampy and well-drained forest bordering

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary forests. The height of the tree canopy was 25-30 meters with a dense understory and abundant palms.

Conservation

The opossum is assessed as data-deficient by the IUCN. There is lack of information about the animals habitat requirement, population, and habits, although probable threats include selective logging and deforestation in its range.

References

Short-tailed opossums Marsupials of Brazil Marsupials of Peru Mammals described in 2007 {{marsupial-stub