''Sairadelphys'' is an extinct genus of
didelphine opossums from the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
of
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 ...
.
Taxonomy
''Sairadelphys'' is a didelphine opossum, described as a sister taxon to ''
Hyladelphys''. ''Sairadelphys tocantinensis'' is the only recognized species, and it is known from deposits in the Gruta dos Mouras cave,
Tocantins, Brazil.
[
]
Biology
The more flattened molars of ''Sairadelphys'' indicate of diet of both fruit and insects. It had an estimated mass of less than 40 g.[
]
References
†Sairadelphys
Extinct marsupials of South America
Prehistoric marsupial genera
{{marsupial-stub