The Guahiba gracile opossum (''Cryptonanus guahybae'') is a species of

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...

in the family Didelphidae. It is endemic to southern

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 ...

, where it is known only from three islands, Guahiba, São Lourenço, and Taquara, in the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. The poorly studied species is presumed to inhabit subtropical forests, and thus to be threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

References

* * Opossums Endemic fauna of Brazil Environment of Rio Grande do Sul Marsupials of South America Mammals of Brazil Mammals described in 1931 {{marsupial-stub