Lutreolina crassicaudata

Geographic Range

Lutrine opossums ( Lutreolina crassicaudata ) are found in two disjunct South American ranges. Their larger, southern range includes Bolivia, southeastern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina. The northern portion of their range includes Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname.

• Biogeographic Regions
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Lutrine opossums are typically found near creeks, streams and other permanent water bodies or flooded areas. In a research study, 93% of lutrine opossums were trapped within 20 meters of a permanent water source. These animals are often found in savannas, wet grasslands and gallery forests. Their specific habitat preferences may be related to their range, including pampas and temperate grasslands in Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil, savanna woodlands in northern Argentina and Paraguay and tropical grasslands and gallery forests in Mato Grosso, Brazil. They are often considered the didelphid species most adapted for life in pampas habitats. Lutrine opossums can be found in the Bolivian Andes at elevations up to 2,000 m.

• Habitat Regions
• tropical tropical

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland
• forest forest

Physical Description

Lutrine opossums are medium-sized marsupials, similar in size to gray four-eyed opossums . Males of this species are larger than females with a body weight of 737.2 g (+/- 339.7), as opposed to the female’s body weight of 490.4 g (+/- 127.1). Head and body lengths average 316.7 mm (+/- 31.3) in males, with a tail length of 280.5 mm (+/- 19.2), whereas female head and body lengths measured 285.4 mm (+/- 24.9), with a tail length of 259.7 mm (+/- 18.3). Their physical appearance is similar to weasels, with a long, slim body and short legs. Although this species is known to swim, their feet are neither webbed nor enlarged. Lutrine opossums are also known to climb, however, their hallux and pollex are not opposable and their tail is not prehensile. Their soft, thick dorsal pelage is solid reddish, buffy or dark brown and may appear purplish. Their ventral pelage is a lighter, ocher coloration. Their tail is thick and furred at the base; the last 50 mm of their tail is naked on the ventral side, with a dark tip. Lutrine opossums have short rostrums with a reddish muzzle that lacks any distinctive facial markings. Their ears are small and rounded, barely visible above their fur. Their dental formula is similar to all other didelphids : 5/4, 1/1, 3/3, 4/4, with 50 teeth total. In addition, female lutrine opossums have undeveloped pouches containing 9 mammae.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

Reproduction

Many species of didelphids show a polygynous mating system in which males compete for females. Although mating systems have not been studied in lutrine opossums specifically, their sexual dimorphism indicates that polygyny is likely for this species.

Lutrine opossums likely breed twice a year within the span of September to February, during their spring and summer. Their first annual litter is likely born at the end of September and their second litter is likely born in January. After a gestation period of around 2 weeks, they have litters ranging from 7 to 11 young, with a 20:15 male to female ratio. Young likely become sexually mature when they about 6 months old, but probably do not begin breeding until the following season.

• Key Reproductive Features
• semelparous semelparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• viviparous viviparous

Very little is known about the parental investment of lutrine opossums. Young are raised in dry grass nests and weaned when they about 3 months old.

• Parental Investment
• altricial altricial
• female parental care female parental care

Lifespan/Longevity

The lifespan of lutrine opossums is not known, however, there is a record of a captive individual surviving 3 years. Their mortality rate is affected by their frequent collisions with cars.

Behavior

Lutrine opossums are nocturnal and crepuscular. These animals have extremely diverse modes of locomotion; they are agile on the ground, skillful climbers and strong swimmers. Although they are adept swimmers and are almost always found near a permanent water source, lutrine opossums are not truly specialized for semi-aquatic locomotion. Their fur is not water-resistant, they lack large, webbed feet and they use a primitive paddling method. Likewise, although lutrine opossums are good climbers, they lack a prehensile tail and an opposable hallux and pollex. Lutrine opossums construct nests in tree holes and in grasses; they also use the abandoned burrows of armadillos and viscachas . In laboratory tests, lutrine opossums showed a startled, frozen response when presented with aversive stimuli. Interestingly, this species shows a remarkably high rate of REM sleep. A captively housed male has been successfully held with 2 females, which has led some to believe that this species may be more social than other didelphids .

• Key Behaviors
• nocturnal nocturnal
• crepuscular crepuscular
• motile motile
• solitary solitary

Home Range

The home range size of lutrine opossums has not been fully studied; however, in Argentina, their home range has been estimated at 3,800 square meters.

Communication and Perception

Lutrine opossums produce high-pitched whistle sounds when they perceive danger, but may also produce similar sounds as a form of social contact. These animals likely produce a variety of olfactory signals as well. Olfaction is important for most marsupials as it facilitates their trip to their mother’s pouch directly after birth. Generally, didelphids also have good eyesight and hearing, although the specific sensory functions of lutrine opossums are not known.

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Lutrine opossums may have slightly different feeding preferences depending on their range, although in general, these animals are often considered the most carnivorous didelphid species. Within their Brazilian range, their diet is primarily composed of crabs and beetles , although they are also known to eat a variety of other invertebrate and vertebrate animals as well as fruits and seeds, specifically from Ceropia glaziovii and piper plants ( Piperaceae ). In central Argentina, these animals consumed amphibians , birds , arthropods , snails , seeds and vegetation. In other ranges, these animals are also known to feed on fish and small mammals . During their warm season, March through May, lutrine opossums consume a significantly larger quantity of plant material.

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• birds
• mammals
• amphibians
• fish
• terrestrial non-insect arthropods
• mollusks
• aquatic crustaceans

• Plant Foods
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

Predation

Lutrine opossums are likely prey for manned wolves and are known prey for outdoor domestic cats and dogs . Likewise, although lutrine opossums are immune to the venom of several snakes, including Bothrops jararaca , the remains of juvenile lutrine opossums have been found in the scat of rattlesnakes . Young lutrine opossums may also fall victim to a variety of predatory birds including roadside hawks , great horned owls and barn owls .

Ecosystem Roles

Lutrine opossums are believed to be seed dispersers. They drop an average of 765 seeds in their scat per night. Specifically, the Cecropia seeds in their diet remain viable for germination after passing through their digestive tract. Likewise, lutrine opossums are known to carry a variety of parasites including nematodes, ticks and protozoan.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Currently there are no known positive economic impacts from lutrine opossums on human populations; however, in the past, their fur had been used in clothing.

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Lutrine opossums may cause negative economic effects due to their tendency to raid chicken coups and pigeon lofts.

Conservation Status

Currently, lutrine opossums are listed as a species of least concern according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These animals are believed to have a relatively large population size and can be found in a variety of protected areas.

Other Comments

Lutrine opossums are known by a variety of names, including ‘thick-tailed opossums’, ‘red opossums’ and ‘little water opossums’. In addition, their physical similarity to mustelids has also given them the names ‘mink-opossum’ and ‘comadreja’, the Spanish word for weasel.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Leila Siciliano Martina (author), Animal Diversity Web Staff.

References

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