Reig's opossum (''Monodelphis reigi'') is a

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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 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 the family Didelphidae, discovered in 2004. It is named after Argentine biologist

Osvaldo Reig Osvaldo Alfredo Reig (14 August 1929 – 13 March 1992) was an Argentine biologist and paleontologist. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He made numerous contributions in the fields of paleontology and biological evolution. He studied at ...

(1929–1992). It was initially found in montane forest in

Canaima National Park Canaima National Park () is a park in south-eastern Venezuela that roughly occupies the same area as the La Gran Sabana, Gran Sabana region. It is located in Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State, reaching the borders with Brazil and Guya ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

at an elevation of 1300 m in the Sierra de Lema. It is typically found between 1100 m and 2050 m on

Mount Ayanganna Mount Ayanganna is a sandstone tepui in the Pakaraima Mountains of western Guyana, and located east of Mount Roraima. With a height of it is the easternmost tepui taller than . It is part of the Guiana Shield and Guyana Highlands. Ecology Th ...

References

Short-tailed opossums Endemic fauna of Venezuela Marsupials of Venezuela Guayana Highlands Vulnerable animals Vulnerable biota of South America Mammals described in 2004 {{marsupial-stub