14 



NORTH AMERICANi FAUNA 66 



ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES 



Order MARSUPIALIA (pouched mammals) 



Family DIDELPHIDAE (opossums) 

 OPOSSUM 



Didelphis marsupialis virginiana Kerr 



Didelphis virginiana Kerr, The animal kingdom . . p. 193, 1792. 

 Tppe locality. — Virginiia. 



General distribution. — In the eastern United States from Vermont, New York, 

 central Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, south to central Georgia, Alabama, 

 Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. 



Distribution in Maryland. — Occurs abundantly in all sections of 

 the State. 



Distinguishing characteristics. — Teeth 5/4, 1/1, 3/3, 4/4, = 50; tail 

 naked and prehensile; five toes on each foot, the first on each hind 

 foot clawless and thumblike; outer hair long and coarse, underfur 

 short and soft; general coloration grizzled-grayish. 



Measurements. — Three adults from Cabin John, Montgomery 

 County, measure: Total length 780', 737, 795; tail vertebrae 298, 325, 

 333; hind foot 70, 63, 70; greatest length of skull 117.7, 98.6, 111; 

 zygomatic breadth 63.5, 53.5, 54.7. 



Habitat and habits. — The opossum prefers densely forested areas. 

 Llewellyn and Dale (1964, pp. 120-121) found that at the Patuxent 

 Kesearch Center, near Laurel, Prince Georges County, this species was 

 primarily an animal of the low, dense woodland, favoring sections 

 near water. They found that well-drained upland woods were less 

 desirable, and the open cleared or cultivated lands seemed to be of 

 slight value for the opossum. Nevertheless, it will frequently wander 

 into meadows and cultivated fields in search of food. The prehensile tail 

 and opposable first toe on the hind foot make this animal almost as 

 much at home in trees as on the ground. 



The opossum apparently does not favor the pine woods and salt 

 marshes along the Atlantic coast. One specimen was taken on the 

 Virginia portion of Assateague Island in the early 1930's, but local 

 residents report that none have been seen there in a number of years. 



The species is abundant in the Rock Creek Park area of the District 

 of Columbia, often wandering into nearby regions of the city at night, 

 searching for food and sometimes rummaging in garbage pails in 

 residential areas considerably distant from the wooded areas. One 

 such wanderer recently made his abode in the backyard of a row- 

 house near the center of the city where he remained for many weeks, 



