Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum
Encyclopedia
The Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum (Thylamys pusillus) is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It occurs in Argentina
, Bolivia
, Brazil
, and Paraguay
in chaco
and Andean
foothill habitats. Its head-and-body length is about 75 to 120 (mean 94.3) mm, and its tail length is about 90 to 134 (mean 103.6) mm. Its dorsal
fur
is brownish gray, and its ventral
fur is yellowish to white. The legs and cheeks are the same color as the ventral
surface. Its tail is sharply bicolored (divided into two colors). A ring of faintly darker fur surrounds each eye
. Its tail often lacks fat deposits, but does not always.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
in chaco
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
and Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
foothill habitats. Its head-and-body length is about 75 to 120 (mean 94.3) mm, and its tail length is about 90 to 134 (mean 103.6) mm. Its dorsal
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
is brownish gray, and its ventral
Anatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are designations employed in science that deal with the anatomy of animals to avoid ambiguities that might otherwise arise. They are not language-specific, and thus require no translation...
fur is yellowish to white. The legs and cheeks are the same color as the ventral
Anatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are designations employed in science that deal with the anatomy of animals to avoid ambiguities that might otherwise arise. They are not language-specific, and thus require no translation...
surface. Its tail is sharply bicolored (divided into two colors). A ring of faintly darker fur surrounds each eye
Eye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
. Its tail often lacks fat deposits, but does not always.