Virginia opossum: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Virginia opossum lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Didelphis virginiana
Group	Marsupials
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	4 countries
Continents	North America
Mass	0.16 g (birth weight)
Class	Mammal
Order	Didelphimorphia
Family	Didelphidae

Where does the Virginia opossum live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Virginia opossum in 4 countries and territories across North America.

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.

How big is a Virginia opossum?

Wikidata records the following for the Virginia opossum: mass 0.16 g (birth weight).

Is the Virginia opossum endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the Virginia opossum?

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

About the Virginia opossum

The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), also known as the North American opossum, is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica, making it the northernmost marsupial in the world. Commonly referred to simply as the possum, it is a solitary nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, and a successful opportunist.

Opossums are familiar to many North Americans as they frequently inhabit settled areas near food sources like trash cans, pet food, compost piles, gardens or housemice. Their slow, nocturnal nature and their attraction to roadside carrion make opossums more likely to become roadkill than other animals in their range.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Virginia opossum (revision 1380988703), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q147267 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).