Opossum

Didelphidae; Temporal range: Early Miocene – Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
	The Virginie opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the anerly species in the US
Scientific classification
Kinrick:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Cless:	Mammalia
Infracless:	Marsupialia
Order:	Didelphimorphia; Gill, 1872
Faimily:	Didelphidae; Gray, 1821
Genera
	Several; see text
Diversity
	108 speshies

Opossums (colloquially possums) (Didelphimorphia, /daɪˌdɛlfᵻˈmɔːrfiə/) mak up the lairgest order o marsupials in the Wastren Hemisphere, includin 103 or mair species in 19 genera. Thay are commonly cried possums an aw, tho that term technically refers tae Australie fauna o the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginie opossum wis the first animal tae be named an opossum; uisage o the name wis published in 1610.^[3] The wird opossum wis borrowed frae the Virginie Algonquian (Powhatan) leid in the furm aposoum an ultimately derives frae the Proto-Algonquian wird *wa˙p- aʔθemw, meanin "white dug" or "white beast/ainimal".^[4]

References

↑ Goin, Francisco; Abello, Alejandra; Bellosi, Eduardo; Kay, Richard; Madden, Richard; Carlini, Alfredo (2007). "Los Metatheria sudamericanos de comienzos del Neógeno (Mioceno Temprano, Edad-mamífero Colhuehuapense). Parte I: Introducción, Didelphimorphia y Sparassodonta". Ameghiniana. 44 (1): 29–71.
↑ Gardner, A. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 3–18. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
↑ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000. Houghton Mifflin Company. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2010-09-12. Thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-03.
↑ opossum. CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 20, 2012.

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