Opossum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Didelphimorphia Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous – Recent |
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| Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Didelphimorphia Gill, 1872 |
| Family: | Didelphidae Gray, 1821 |
Opossums are the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, the Didelphimorphia.
They are often called possums, though that term is more properly applied to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes.
The Virginia Opossum was the first animal to be named an opossum: the word comes from the Algonquian language, and means "white beast". It was one of the few South American marsupials to establish itself permanently in North America after the Great American Interchange, and the only one to survive there today.
