Back أبوسوم الماء Arabic ابوسوم الماء ARZ Tueskol (Chironectes minimus) AVK Япок Bulgarian Oposom-dour BR Opòssum aquàtic Catalan Chironectes minimus CEB Vačice vydří Czech Schwimmbeutler German Chironectes minimus Spanish
| Water opossum | |
|---|---|
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| Chironectes minimus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Didelphimorphia |
| Family: | Didelphidae |
| Subfamily: | Didelphinae |
| Tribe: | Didelphini |
| Genus: | Chironectes Illiger, 1811 |
| Species: | C. minimus
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| Binomial name | |
| Chironectes minimus (Zimmermann, 1780)
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| Water opossum range | |
The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (/ˈjæpɒk/), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae.[2] It is the only living member of its genus, Chironectes.[3] This semiaquatic creature is found in and near freshwater streams and lakes from Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina and is the most aquatic living marsupial (the lutrine opossum also has semiaquatic habits). It is also the only living marsupial in which both sexes have a pouch. The thylacine, commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, also exhibited this trait, but it is now extinct.[4]
The water opossum lives in bankside burrows, emerging after dusk to swim and search for fish, crustaceans and other aquatic animals, which it eats on the bank.
- ^ Pérez-Hernandez, R.; Brito, D.; Tarifa, T.; Cáceres, N.; Lew, D.; Solari, S. (2016). "Chironectes minimus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T4671A22173467. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T4671A22173467.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ * Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 384.
- ^ "National Museum of Australia - Extinction of thylacine".