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 ...
n
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 (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.
References
Short-tailed opossums
Endemic fauna of Venezuela
Marsupials of Venezuela
Guayana Highlands
Vulnerable animals
Vulnerable biota of South America
Mammals described in 2004
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