Geographic Range
Monodelphis brevicaudata
is predominantly found in the South American countries of Venezuela, the Guyanas,
Columbia, parts of Brazil, and Bolivia.
- Biogeographic Regions
- neotropical
Habitat
Red-legged short-tailed opossums
live mainly in forests and in shrubby areas with a great deal of vegetation. Nests
have been reported in the hollows of trees.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- forest
- scrub forest
Physical Description
Red-legged short-tailed opossums have a body length of approximately 16 cm, a tail length of roughly 9 cm, and weigh between 67 and 95 g. Males are reported to be slightly larger than females.
One distinctive feature of M. brevicaudata is that members of the species usually have grey or black fur on their backs, reddish fur on their sides continuing onto the legs, and black feet and tail. Their tails are very short and furred. Their fur is usually short and dense.
The skull is characterized by the presence of the jugal and zygomatic arch. The dental
formula of this opossum species is 5/4, 1/1, 3/3, 4/4= 50.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
There is relatively little known about the mating patterns of
M brevicaudata
in particular. It may be similar to that of other didelphids, which are polygynous.
Competition between males may be extreme, and male opposums are often intollerant
of one another. Because of the sexual dimorphism in size seen in this species, it
is likely that they are similar to other members of their family.
- Mating System
- polygynous
There is not a great deal that is known about the reproduction of the
M. brevicaudata
. Although data for this species are scant, within one member of the genus the period
of estrus was found to last 3 to 12 days, and the estrous cycle showed a bimodal distribution,
being about 2 weeks long in one of captive females and about 1 month long in another
group. The species usually reproduces during the dry season and they produce between
6 and 8 young. Reproduction of this species may be similar to that of other opossums
which have an average gestation period of 12.5 days.
Regardless of the actual length of gestation, we can assume that because these animals
are marsupials, the gestation is short, and the young are born fairly undeveloped.
Because the pouch of females is not well developed in this genus, it is likley that
the young must cling to the nipple until they are large enough to ride on the back
of their mother.
Young are dependent upon their mother until about 50 days after birth. Sexual maturity
in the genus
Monodelphis
is reached between 4 and 5 months of age, and breeding may occur as late as 39 months
of age in males and 28 months in females.
It is not known how frequently these animals reproduce, and it is not possible to
generalize from other members of the genus. Some species in
Monodelphis
are apparently semelparous, with few individuals living past their first reproduction.
Others may produce up to four litters per year.
- Key Reproductive Features
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
There is no information about the specific parental investment of
red-legged, short-tailed opossums
. It is likely that the female, who provides nourishment for the young gives most,
if not all of the parental care. The pouch of these animals is reported to be poorly
developed, and so the young must cling to a nipple until they are large enough to
ride on the the mother's back. The role of the male in parental care of
M. bevicaudata
is not known.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
The lifespan of M. brevicaudata is unknown.
Behavior
Behavior of
M. brevicaudata
is still being explored. However, it is know that these mammals are solitary and
usually asocial creatures. It is also known that they are diurnal, territorial and
terrestrial. They are motile on the ground and occasionally in trees.
Home Range
The home range size for these animals has not been reported.
Communication and Perception
Details of the communciation patterns of M. brevicaudata are not available. The species is reported to have tactile and chemical perception channels. As diurnal mammals, we can assume that they also use vision to some extent, and it is likely that they communicate with one another using body postures and other visual signals. Vocalizations have not been reported, but probably occur.
Food Habits
Red-legged short-tailed opossums generally eat insects such as cockroaches and crickets
and small animals such as spiders, but also eat fruit and seeds on occasion.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- terrestrial non-insect arthropods
- Plant Foods
- fruit
Predation
Details on the predation of M. brevicaudata are unknown, but common didelphid predators include owls, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats.
Ecosystem Roles
Through its foraging behavior, M. brevicaudata probably has a role in the regulation of insects and small animal populations in its habitat. To the extent that these animals serve as prey for predators, they may also have some affect on predator populations.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
There are no known positive effects of this species on humans.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known negative consequences of this species on humans.
Conservation Status
There is no special conservation status for
M. brevicaudata
. Howver,there are reportes that most members of the genus are declining due to habitat
destruction.
Additional Links
Contributors
Nancy Shefferly (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Aarti Mandavia (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- polygynous
-
having more than one female as a mate at one time
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
References
Cockrum, E. 1962. Introduction to Mammology . New York: The Ronald Press Company.
Eisenberg, J., K. Redford. 1999. Mammals of the Neotropics-Volume 3 . Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Engstrom, M., B. Lim, F. Reid. 1999. "Iwokrama Mammals- Opossums. Short-tailed Opossum." (On-line). Accessed February 08, 2004 at http://iwokrama.org/mammals/frame.html .
Linares, O. 1998. Mamiferos de Venezuela . Caracas: Socieda Conservacionista Audubon de Venezuela.
NatureServe, 2003. " Didelphis brevicaudata : Red-legged, short-tailed opossum." (On-line). InfoNatura: Birds, mammals, and amphibians of Latin America. Accessed February 09, 2004 at http://www.natureserve.org/infonatura/ .
Nowak, R. 1997. "Monodelphis: Short-tailed opossums" (On-line). Walker's Mammals of the World, On-Line. Accessed March 07, 2004 at http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/marsupialia/marsupialia.didelphidae.monodelphis.html .
Ventura, J., R. Perez-Hernandez, M. Lopez-Fuster. 1998. Morphometric Assessment of the Monodelphis brevicaudata Group in Venezuela. Journal of Mammalogy , 79/1: 104-111.
Wible, J. 2003. "The Bones of the Skull of the Short-tailed Opossum, Monodelphis brevicaudata (Didelphidae, Marsupialia)" (On-line). Accessed February 08, 2004 at http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mammals/publications/opossum.doc .
Wilson, D., D. Reeder. 1993. "Mammal Species of the World (MSW) Scientific Names" (On-line). Accessed February 07, 2004 at http://nmnhgoph.si.edu/msw/ .