Water opossum: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the water opossum lives – recorded in 5 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Chironectes minimus
Group	Marsupials
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	5 countries
Continents	South America
Mass	697 g (adult weight)
Class	Mammal
Order	Didelphimorphia
Family	Didelphidae

Where does the water opossum live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the water opossum in 5 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Americas.

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 water opossum?

Wikidata records the following for the water opossum: mass 697 g (adult weight).

Is the water opossum endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the water opossum?

The water opossum (Chironectes minimus) is a mammal in the order Didelphimorphia and the family Didelphidae, genus Chironectes. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the water opossum

The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is the only monotypic species of its genus, Chironectes. 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 extant marsupial species in which both sexes have a pouch. The now extinct thylacine, commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, also exhibited this trait.

The local name for the water opossum, "yapok", may come from the name of the Oyapock River in French Guiana.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Water opossum (revision 1359408636), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q660423 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).