Shrew Opossums: Paucituberculata - Physical Characteristics, Geographic Range, Habitat, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction, Silky Shrew Opossum (caenolestes Fuliginosus): Species Account - SHREW OPOSSUMS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS
Tiny, secretive, and living in remote regions, shrew opossums have very little interaction with humanity and pose no threats.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists the Chilean shrew opossum as Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction), due to deforestation (removing trees) from logging.
Additional Topics
The New World marsupial order Paucituberculata contains only one surviving family, the Caenolestidae, or shrew opossums (the true shrews, family Soricidae, are not marsupial but placental mammals). Shrew opossums are mouse-sized marsupial mammals with dense, dark gray or brown fur. Also called mouse opossums and rat opossums, their appearance is more suggestive of shrews. Shrew opossums have long,…
The gray-bellied shrew opossum, the blackish shrew opossum, the silky shrew opossum, and the Incan shrew opossum live in dense vegetation in cool, rainy mountain forests and meadows, from 4,500 to 12,000 feet (1,500 to 4,000 meters) above sea level. The Chilean shrew opossum inhabits rainy lowland temperate rainforest along the Chilean coast from sea level to 2,270 feet (1,135 meters), preferring …
Little is known about the particulars of breeding among shrew opossum species. Field researchers have found lactating (producing milk for young) females of the Chilean shrew opossum in February, March, May, October, November, and December, suggesting a breeding season from December through May, and no breeding from June through September, the coldest months in the Southern Hemisphere. Breeding sea…
Physical characteristics: The silky shrew opossum is probably the best known of the shrew opossum species. Its head and body length ranges from 3.7 to 5.3 inches (9.3 to 13.5 centimeters), the tail 3.7 to 5.3 inches (9.3 to 12.7 centimeters). The fur on the dorsal (back) body is soft and thick, and colored a dark brown gradually giving way to lighter brown on the lower body and underbelly. Geograp…
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments