Common opossum: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the common opossum lives – recorded in 14 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Didelphis marsupialis
Group	Marsupials
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	14 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Class	Mammal
Order	Didelphimorphia
Family	Didelphidae

Where does the common opossum live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the common opossum in 14 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, São Miguel do Guamá.

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 common opossum endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the common opossum?

The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) is a mammal in the order Didelphimorphia and the family Didelphidae, genus Didelphis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the common opossum

The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the northern black-eared opossum, is a species of marsupial living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Windward Islands in the Caribbean, where it is referred to as the manicou. The common opossum prefers forests, but can also be found in fields and cities.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Common opossum (revision 1378662656), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q194663 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).