MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Chironectes minimus

Accepted taxon: Chironectes minimus
Taxon:	Chironectes minimus
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	DIDELPHIMORPHIA \| Didelphidae \| Didelphinae \| Chironectes
Reference:	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005.

Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Chironectes minimus diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 5, ASH (Ash contents) 12, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 10, CP (Crude Protein) 60, EE (Ether Extract) 12. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 1. List of Diet Items for Chironectes minimus.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Insecta	WHOLE	33.33	Damuth, J…
Osteichthyes	WHOLE	30.00	Damuth, J…
Crustacea	WHOLE	23.33	Damuth, J…
Mollusca	WHOLE	4.17	Grzimek,B…
Arthropoda	WHOLE	4.17	Damuth, J…
Anura	WHOLE	3.33	Hume,ID, …
Magnoliopsida	FRUIT	1.67	Hume,ID, …

^a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 2. List of Standard Traits for Chironectes minimus.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Temporal habits	nocturnal	nocturnal	– Rodrigo A. Medellin, 1994, 'Mammal Diversity and Conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico', Conservation Biology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 780-799
Locomotion: Eisenberg 1981	Terrestrial	Scansonal, Semiaquatic, Terrestrial	– Paglia,A. P., 2012, Lista Anotada dos Mamíferos do Brasil 2ª Edição Annotated Checklist of Brazilian Mammals 2nd Edition, Rodrigo A. Medellin, 1994, 'Mammal Diversity and Conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico', Conservation Biology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 780-799, Weisbecker, V., Beck, R., Guillerme, T., Harrington, A., Lange-Hodgson, L., Lee, M., Mardon, K., Phillips, M. 2023. Multiple modes of inference reveal less phylogenetic signal in marsupial basicranial shape compared with the rest of the cranium. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 378(1880), pp.None. Available at: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0085.
Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981	Carnivore	Carnivore, Piscivore and Squid-Eater	– EUAN G. RITCHIE, 2005, 'Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials', Austral Ecology, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 239-240, Paglia,A. P., 2012, Lista Anotada dos Mamíferos do Brasil 2ª Edição Annotated Checklist of Brazilian Mammals 2nd Edition, Rodrigo A. Medellin, 1994, 'Mammal Diversity and Conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico', Conservation Biology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 780-799
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Animalivore	Animalivore	– EUAN G. RITCHIE, 2005, 'Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials', Austral Ecology, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 239-240, Paglia,A. P., 2012, Lista Anotada dos Mamíferos do Brasil 2ª Edição Annotated Checklist of Brazilian Mammals 2nd Edition, Rodrigo A. Medellin, 1994, 'Mammal Diversity and Conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico', Conservation Biology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 780-799, Weisbecker, V., Beck, R., Guillerme, T., Harrington, A., Lange-Hodgson, L., Lee, M., Mardon, K., Phillips, M. 2023. Multiple modes of inference reveal less phylogenetic signal in marsupial basicranial shape compared with the rest of the cranium. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 378(1880), pp.None. Available at: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0085.

Table 3. List of Standard Measurements for Chironectes minimus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	500	-	1,300	-	Freudenth…
Body Mass (BM)	Brazil	g	-	-	-	-	550	670	790	-	Paglia,A.…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Chironectes minimus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
BMR (kJ/h)	nan	kJ/h	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	McNab, B.…
femur circumference	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	Nelson, A…
humerus circumference	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	Nelson, A…
neck length	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	26	-	-	Nelson, A…
BMR,mlO2/h	nan	mlO2/h	4	4	-	-	-	367	-	-	Genoud, M…
BMR,mlO2/h	nan	mlO2/h	3	3	-	-	-	549	-	-	Genoud, M…

^b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..

Table 5. List of Data Sources for Chironectes minimus.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Chironectes minimus	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Geiser,F., 2003, Thermal biology and energetics of carnivorous marsupials, Predators with pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Paglia,A. P., 2012, Lista Anotada dos MamÃƒÂferos do Brasil 2Ã‚Âª EdiÃƒÂ§ÃƒÂ£o Annotated Checklist of Brazilian Mammals,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Hume,ID, 2005, Nutrition of marsupials in captivity, International Zoo Yearbook	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	MedellÃƒÂn,R. A., 1994, Mammal diversity and conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico, Conservation Biology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Thylamys minutus	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	52: Genus, Species = Master subfamily genus, species	Verified - Rejected
Chironectes minimus	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Weisbecker, V., Beck, R.M., Guillerme, T., Harrington, A.R., Lange-Hodgson, L., Lee, M.S., Mardon, K. and Phillips, M.J., 2023. Multiple modes of inference reveal less phylogenetic signal in marsupial basicranial shape compared with the rest of the cranium. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 378(1880), p.20220085.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	DeMers, A.C., 2023. Functional Significance of the Mandible, Tooth Roots, and Tooth Crowns, and their Implications for Fossil Dietary Inference (Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University).	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	McNab, B.K., 2008. An analysis of the factors that influence the level and scaling of mammalian BMR. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 151(1), pp.5-28.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Nelson, A., Engelman, R.K. and Croft, D.A., 2023. How to weigh a fossil mammal? South American notoungulates as a case study for estimating body mass in extinct clades. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 30(3), pp.773-809.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Genoud, M., Isler, K. and Martin, R.D., 2018. Comparative analyses of basal rate of metabolism in mammals: data selection does matter. Biological Reviews, 93(1), pp.404-438.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Freudenthal, M. and Martín-Suárez, E., 2013. Estimating body mass of fossil rodents. Scripta Geologica, 145, pp.1-513.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Chironectes minimus	Rowan, J., Beaudrot, L., Franklin, J., Reed, K.E., Smail, I.E., Zamora, A. and Kamilar, J.M., 2020. Geographically divergent evolutionary and ecological legacies shape mammal biodiversity in the global tropics and subtropics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(3), pp.1559-1565.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted

Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Chironectes minimus , Accessed 1st May 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/4667]