- Animals
- ›Chordates
- ›Vertebrates
- ›Mammals
- ›Therians
- ›Marsupials
- ›Opossums
- ›Opossums
- ›Large American Opossums, Mouse Opossums, and Allies
- ›Large New World Opossums
- ›Chironectes
Water Opossum
Chironectes minimus
The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is the only monotypic species of its genus, Chironectes. This semiaquatic creature is found in and near freshwater streams and lakes from Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina and is the most aquatic living marsupial (the lutrine opossum also has semiaquatic habits). It is also the only extant marsupial species in which both sexes have a pouch. The now extinct thylacine, commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, also exhibited this trait.
The local name for the water opossum, "yapok", may come from the name of the Oyapock River in French Guiana.
From the article Water opossum on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
What it does
Water opossums mate in December and a litter of 1–5 young is born 12 to 14 days later in the nest. By 22 days the offspring are beginning to show some fur, and by 40 days or so their eyes are open, their bodies protruding from the mother's pouch. At 48 days of age, the young opossums detach from the nipples, but they still nurse and sleep with the mother.
Wikipedia: “Reproduction”
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Chironectes minimus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 42700.