MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Philander opossum

Accepted taxon: Philander opossum
Taxon:	Philander opossum
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	DIDELPHIMORPHIA \| Didelphidae \| Didelphinae \| Philander
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 Philander opossum diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 6, ASH (Ash contents) 7, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 30, CP (Crude Protein) 44, EE (Ether Extract) 14. 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 Philander opossum.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Insecta	WHOLE	29.51	Damuth, J…
Magnoliopsida	FRUIT	20.23	Damuth, J…
Vertebrata	WHOLE	17.76	Damuth, J…
Aves	EGGS	8.57	Hume,ID, …
Vertebrata	CARRION	6.03	Grzimek,B…
Zea mays	SEED	3.45	Grzimek,B…
Arecaceae	FRUIT	3.14	Grzimek,B…
Magnoliopsida	NECTAR/JUICE	2.83	Grzimek,B…
Anura	WHOLE	2.51	Grzimek,B…
Aves	WHOLE	2.20	Grzimek,B…
Rodentia	WHOLE	1.88	Grzimek,B…
Gastropoda	WHOLE	1.26	Grzimek,B…
Crustacea	WHOLE	0.63	Grzimek,B…

^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 Philander opossum.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Animalivore	Animalivore, Frugivore	– EUAN G. RITCHIE, 2005, 'Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials', Austral Ecology, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 239-240, John G. Robinson, Kent H. Redford, 1986, 'Body Size, Diet, and Population Density of Neotropical Forest Mammals', The American Naturalist, vol. 128, no. 5, p. 665, 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	Insectivore-Omnivore	Carnivore, Frugivore-omnivore, Insectivore-Omnivore	– EUAN G. RITCHIE, 2005, 'Predators with Pouches: the Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials', Austral Ecology, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 239-240, John G. Robinson, Kent H. Redford, 1986, 'Body Size, Diet, and Population Density of Neotropical Forest Mammals', The American Naturalist, vol. 128, no. 5, p. 665, 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
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	Scansonal	Scansonal	– 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 Philander opossum.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	Brazil	g	-	-	-	-	280	490	700	-	Paglia,A.…
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	150	-	1,400	-	Freudenth…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Philander opossum.
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	-	-	-	-	-	13	-	-	Nelson, A…
femur diameter	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	Nelson, A…
humerus circumference	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	11	-	-	Nelson, A…
neck length	nan	mm	-	-	-	-	-	29	-	-	Nelson, A…
BMR,mlO2/h	nan	mlO2/h	5	5	-	-	-	338	-	-	Genoud, M…
BMR,mlO2/h	nan	mlO2/h	5	5	-	-	-	187	-	-	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 Philander opossum.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Philander opossum	Robinson,John G., 1986, Body Size, Diet, and Population Density of Neotropical Forest Mammals, The American Naturalist	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Metachirops opossum	Geiser,F., 2003, Thermal biology and energetics of carnivorous marsupials, Predators with pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials	150: Genus synonym, same species epithet	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	Gordon,C. L., 2003, A first look at estimating body size in dentally conservative marsupials, Journal of Mammalian Evolution	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	Hume,ID, 2005, Nutrition of marsupials in captivity, International Zoo Yearbook	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	MedellÃƒÂn,R. A., 1994, Mammal diversity and conservation in the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas, Mexico, Conservation Biology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	Hice,C. L., 2011, The non-volant mammals of the EstaciÃƒÂ³n BiolÃƒÂ³gica Allpahuayo: Assessment of the natural history and community ecology of a proposed reserve,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	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
Philander opossum	Beaudrot, L., Acevedo, M.A., Gorczynski, D. and Harris, N.C., 2024. Geographic differences in body size distributions underlie food web connectance of tropical forest mammals. Scientific Reports, 14(1), pp.1-10.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Philander opossum	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 Philander opossum , Accessed 17th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/4780]