The white-eared opossum (''Didelphis albiventris''), known as the timbu in

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 ...

and comadreja overa in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, is an opossum species found in

, Bolivia,

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. It is a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

and, sometimes,

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

animal, and a habitat generalist, living in a wide range of different habitats. For some time, this species was incorrectly known by the name ''D. azarae'', correctly applied to the

big-eared opossum The big-eared opossum (''Didelphis aurita'') also known as a saruê is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. This species, which was considered a population of the common opossum The common ...

. This led to ''azaraes discontinuation as a species name. From 1993 until 2002, this species also included the

Guianan white-eared opossum The Guianan white-eared opossum (''Didelphis imperfecta'') is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana and Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link ...

(''D. imperfecta'') and the Andean white-eared opossum (''D. pernigra'') as subspecies. It is the team mascot of Clube Náutico Capibaribe, a Brazilian football team from

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

Description

The white-eared opossum is about one to three pounds in weight and has black and grey fur, with white hair covering their ears and face, and dark hair on their long tails. They are omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates, small vertebrates, and fruits.

Distribution and habitat

White-eared opossums inhabit open areas, mountains, and deciduous forests and are commonly found in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil, the Andes, and humid forests of Guyana, Suriname, and southern Venezuela. These areas have disparate environmental characteristics such as rainfall, humidity, water balance and temperature. The white-eared opossum often changes its habitat depending on its breeding season. Usually populations are higher in the wetter seasons when the young are weaned and begin venturing out for food. Though normally solitary and nomadic, some will group together in burrows, holes, empty garbage or even under houses.

Diet and seed dispersal

South American opossums mainly consume invertebrates such as beetles, diplopods, and

opiliones The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of ext ...

, together with fruit and vertebrates like small birds, mammals, fossorial snakes, and fish. The composition of the diet changes with the seasons and as the animal ages. During the dry season, older opossums prefer to consume vertebrates. On the other hand, the younger opossums consume more invertebrates and fruits during the wet season. These relatively small differences in diet can favour the survival of younger opossums during the wet season because they avoid competition with older animals. The diet of white-eared opossums also makes them effective seed dispersers. Younger opossums consume smaller fruits than older opossums, so usually the adult opossums disperse larger seeds. However, proportionally, smaller seeds have more chance to pass through the gut without damage. Seeds that have commonly been associated in the diet amongst white-eared opossums are from the fruits of ''Morus nigra, Vassobia breviflora, Rubus rosifolius, Solanum sanctaecatharinae,'' and ''Passiflora actinia.'' Fecal analysis reveals that these seeds are viable for germination after the passage through the digestive tract, making the white-eared opossum an adequate vector for seed dispersal.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q194685 Opossums Marsupials of South America Opossum, White-eared Opossum, White-eared Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Paraguay Mammals of Uruguay Mammals described in 1840