The Brazilian gracile opossum (''Gracilinanus microtarsus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small opossum from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Description

Brazilian gracile opossums are relatively small opossums, with males ranging from and females from in head-body length. The tail is between 30 and 50% of the head-body length. Males weigh and females from . The opossum is reddish dark brown or grey over most of its body with paler, cream-colored, underparts. The fur on the face is also relatively pale, with distinct rings of near black fur around each eye. The tail is prehensile and scaly, and does not store fat as it does in some related species. The toes are relatively long, with small, regular, claws. The female typically has fifteen teats, although the exact number can vary; four are on the chest, and the remainder, including a single median teat, on the abdomen.

Distribution and habitat

The Brazilian gracile opossum is found only in Brazil, being endemic to the south-eastern parts of the country, from

Espirito Santo ''Espirito'' (Brazilian for "Spirit") is the second album by Lawson Rollins. Rollins composed all of the music and co-produced the album with Persian-American musician and producer Shahin Shahida (of Shahin & Sepehr) and multi-platinum producer Do ...

to Rio Grande do Sul. It inhabits rainforests and partly deciduous forests scattered in the southern regions of the

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

ecoregion, but, being able to forage successfully on the ground, is less affected by fragmentation of forest habitats than more purely arboreal animals. It has also been found in artificial

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s. There are no recognised subspecies.

Behavior

Brazilian gracile opossums are arboreal and nocturnal, spending the day nesting in tree hollows. They are solitary animals, with each individual inhabiting a home range of anything from , depending on habitat. Males tend to have larger home ranges than females, presumably because, being larger, they require more food. The species is insectivorous, and is an opportunistic forager, not specialising in any particular kind of insect. Individuals have also been reported to eat some spiders, snails, and even fruit (including passionfruit). Predators of Brazilian gracile opossums include ocelots,

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

crab-eating fox The crab-eating fox (''Cerdocyon thous''), also known as the forest fox, wood fox, bushdog (not to be confused with the bush dog) or maikong, is an extant species of medium-sized canid endemic to the central part of South America since at least ...

es,

maned wolves The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a w ...

and

white-tailed hawk The white-tailed hawk (''Geranoaetus albicaudatus'') is a large bird of prey species found in tropical and subtropical environments of the Americas. Description The white-tailed hawk is a large, stocky hawk. It is close in size to the Swainso ...

Reproduction

Females come into

estrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous ...

once a year, between August and September. Litters of up to twelve young are born during the wet season, when food is plentiful. The mother does not possess a pouch. They are

weaned Weaning is the process of gradually introducing an infant human or another mammal to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk. The infan ...

by three months of age, between November and December. The young are fully grown, with an adult set of teeth, by six months, reaching sexual maturity within a year of birth. Most Brazilian gracile opossums do not survive for much longer than a year, but some can reach two years of age.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q194850 Opossums Endemic fauna of Brazil Fauna of the Atlantic Forest Marsupials of South America Mammals of Brazil Environment of Rio de Janeiro (state) Environment of São Paulo (state) Mammals described in 1842