Possums should not be confused with the Australasian arboreal marsupials of suborder Phalangeriformes that are also called possums because of. Opossums are fully weaned and independent when they are about 100 days old. It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum (/ p s m / sometimes rendered as ' possum in written form to indicate the dropped 'o'). They are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active during the night. When they are too large for the pouch, the young are carried clinging to their mother’s fur. In most opossum species, the young remain attached to the nipple for seven to eight weeks, after which they are carried in the pouch. Some newborns never succeed in entering the pouch, and they die others die because there are more young born than there are teats (nipples) to serve them. Those that reach the pouch seek out a nipple-there are usually 13 of them-and latch on with their mouths.
Using their clawed forelimbs, the newborns instinctively move toward their mother’s fur-lined pouch. The young are born blind, naked, and grublike.
An opossum may have as many as 25 young, but the average number is usually seven or eight. Possums are nocturnal marsupials that are often considered pests due to their scavenging habits. The gestation period (time between conception and birth) averages a short 12.5 days. Opossums living in cooler regions usually produce one litter per year, while those in warmer regions generally have two litters per year. Sumac Muyu Foundation/Bigal River Conservation Project - Ecuador The innermost toe on each hind foot is clawless and opposable and can be used for grasping branches. There are five sharp-clawed toes on each front foot. The nearly hairless, scaly, prehensile tail is about half the animal’s total length. Opossums have a pointy face, beady black eyes, round black ears, and a stout body. The fur covering an opossum’s body ends at its tail. Opossums in North America are also brown or gray, but their southern counterparts can be white or black. Their faces look longer than possums, with jagged teeth and a pointy snout. Fur color may be grayish white, brown, or nearly black. Opossums are also nocturnal animals but are not as active at night as possums.
Including their tails, opossums range in length from about 4 inches (11 centimeters)-the short-tailed opossums of the genus Monodelphis of South America-to 40 inches (100 centimeters)-the Virginia opossum. Most opossums live in the forests of Central and South America the Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America. Although they were once formerly grouped in the order Marsupialia, opossums are now separated and placed in the orders Didelphimorphia, Paucituberculata, and Microbiotheria. Slightly more than 100 species of these New World mammals exist. Although these marsupials do not hibernate, they live in burrows filled with dry leaves during winters. When these species are threatened, they will play possum mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick or dead animal. It is unusual to see an opossum out during the day in the winters. As they are sometimes called-are small marsupials, which are animals that carry their young in a pouch. Opossums are nocturnal foraging in the night.
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