Short-tailed opossums
Gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Tribe: Marmosini
Genus: Monodelphis
Burnett, 1830
Type species
Monodelphis brachyura
Burnett, 1830
Species

see text

Monodelphis is a genus of marsupials in the family Didelphidae, commonly referred to as short-tailed opossums. They are found throughout South America. As of January 2019, the most recently described species is M. vossi.[1]

Species

Cladogram of living Monodelphis[2][3]
Pyrodelphys

M. emiliae

Microdelphys

M. scalops

M. theresa

M. dimidiata

M. sorex

M. gardneri

M. iheringi

M. americana

M. umbristriata

Mygalodelphys

M. kunsi

M. reigi

M. adusta

M. peruviana

M. handleyi

M. osgoodi

Monodelphis

M. domestica

M. glirina

M. sanctaerosae

M. arlindoi

M. alstoni

M. touan

M. brevicaudata

M. palliolata

Speciation is based on fur coloration with additional details coming from differences in the skull and teeth.[4]

Chemosensory communication

Short-tailed opossums have been found to use nuzzling in chemosensory and exploratory behavior for recognizing individuals of the same species. In Monodelphis domestica, nuzzling and snout-rubbing transforms odor from dry components like glandular secretions, feces, and urine, into moist naso-oral secretions that reach the vomeronasal organ to be processed chemically. Typically, this behavior is used to recognize individual familiar or new scents from the same species, with males typically being drawn to more novel scents from the same species.[5]

Conservation status

M. sorex and M. rubida are considered to be endangered.

Reproductive development

The genus Monodelphis is marsupial; they are born under-developed and then mature further in the mother's pouch. In Monodelphis, the young first come off the teat in 12 days, whereas this occurs at 48 days in the related genus Didelphis. Most of the events in this process occur about 2–4 weeks later in Didelphis than in Monodelphis. This may be related to the shorter longevity of the species of Monodelphis compared to other marsupials who nurse for a longer period.[6] M. dimidiata is unusual in that it is a semelparous species, something rarely seen in mammals, being found predominantly in smaller didelphids and dasyurids.

References

  1. 1 2 Pavan, Silvia E (11 January 2019). "A revision of the Monodelphis glirina group (Didelphidae: Marmosini), with a description of a new species from Roraima, Brazil". Journal of Mammalogy. 100 (1): 103–117. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyy165.
  2. ↑ Upham, Nathan S.; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Jetz, Walter (2019). "Inferring the mammal tree: Species-level sets of phylogenies for questions in ecology, evolution and conservation". PLOS Biol. 17 (12): e3000494. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494. PMC 6892540. PMID 31800571.
  3. ↑ Amador, Lucila I.; Giannini, Norberto P. (1 September 2016). "Phylogeny and evolution of body mass in didelphid marsupials (Marsupialia: Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 16 (3): 641–657. doi:10.1007/s13127-015-0259-x. S2CID 17393886.
  4. ↑ Solari, Sergio (2010). "A molecular perspective on the diversification of short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis: Didelphidae)". Mastozoología Neotropical. 17 (2): 317–333.
  5. ↑ Poran, Naomie S.; Tripoli, Robin; Halpern, Mimi (1993). "Nuzzling in the gray short-tailed opossum II: Familiarity and individual recognition". Physiology & Behavior. 53 (5): 969–973. doi:10.1016/0031-9384(93)90276-l. ISSN 0031-9384. PMID 8511214. S2CID 38881374.
  6. ↑ Smith, Kathleen K.; van Nievelt, Alexander F. H. (31 January 1997). "Comparative Rates of Development in Monodelphis and Didelphis". Science. 275 (5300): 683–684. doi:10.1126/science.275.5300.683. PMID 9005857. S2CID 34138665.

Further reading

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