Description
- Didelphis Opossum
- Lower Jaw
- Pleistocene Age
- River Find
- Taylor County, Florida
- Specimen measures approx. 1 11/16″ long and will come in the 3.25″ x 4.25″ Riker Mount as shown
The six species in the genus Didelphis, commonly known as large American opossums, are members of the Didelphimorphia order. The genus is composed of cat-sized omnivorous species, and are recognized on their prehensile tails and the tendency to “play possum” (feign dead) when cornered. The largest species, the Virginia opossum, is the only marsupial to be found in North America north of Mexico. Didelphis virginiana was the last South American mammal to disperse into temperate North America during the Great American Biotic Interchange. But only it, the porcupine, and the armadillo survive today.
