Big-eared opossum: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the big-eared opossum lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Didelphis aurita
Group	Marsupials
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	2 countries
Continents	South America
Class	Mammal
Order	Didelphimorphia
Family	Didelphidae

Where does the big-eared opossum live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the big-eared opossum in 2 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the big-eared opossum endangered?

The big-eared opossum’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the big-eared opossum?

The big-eared opossum (Didelphis aurita) is a mammal in the order Didelphimorphia and the family Didelphidae, genus Didelphis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the big-eared opossum

The big-eared opossum (Didelphis aurita), also known as a saruê, or the gambá, is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

This species, which was considered a population of the common opossum (D. marsupialis) for some time, was originally described as D. azarae by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824, but this name was incorrectly given to the white-eared opossum (D. albiventris) for over 160 years. As such, the name azarae has been abandoned.

Due to carrying offspring, female big-eared opossums tend to stay in smaller areas and reduce their movements.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Big-eared opossum (revision 1330302956), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q194238 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).