Water opossum (Yapok)
INTRODUCTION
Hi, I’m a water opossum. Also called the yapok, I’m the only aquatic marsupial. I have fine, dense, water-repellent fur, and long, webbed toes on my rear feet. Both males and females have a pouch with a muscular opening that can close tight underwater, my male’s pouch (where he places his genitalia before swimming). My yummy diet includes fish, frogs, and similar freshwater prey. We detected and grabbed them by the dextrous, clawless front toes. I can rest for a day in a leaf-lined riverbank den. I’m an inhabitant of temperate forests, including woodland, tropical forest and rainforest, wetlands, and all still bodies of water, including lakes, ponds, pools, marshes, bogs, swamps, rivers, streams, and all flowing water. My breeding season starts in December in America. My female gave birth to 5 young in the gestation period of 12 to 14 days. My 22 days old offspring are beginning to show some fur, and at 40 days or so their eyes are open, their bodies protruding from their mother’s pouch. At 48 days of age, the young detach from the nipples, but they still nurse and sleep with their mother.
- AVG. READING TIME: 10 MINUTES
- UPDATE: 10/04/2022
DIET : Fish, frogs, and similar freshwater prey, detected and grabbed by the dextrous
HABITAT : Temperate forest, including woodland, Tropical forest and rainforest, Wetlands and all still bodies of water, including lakes, ponds, pools, marshes, bogs, and swamps.Rivers, streams, and all flowing water
SOCIAL UNIT : Individual
LOCATIONS : America
STATUS / POPULATION : Least Concern (IUCN) Low-risk category that includes widespread and common species / Unknown
MAMMALS: MARSUPIALS
KEY FACTS
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Chordate
Class – Mammals
Order – Didelphimorphia Gill
Family – Didelphimorphia Gill
Genus – Didelphimorphia Gill
Genus Species – Didelphimorphia Gill
INTERESTING FACTS
1- The only living marsupial in which both the males and females have a pouch
2- The only living marsupial in which both the males and females have a pouch
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CALLING NAMES / SCIENTIFIC NAME
Calling name: Water opossum and Yapok
Scientific Name: Chironectes minimus -
COLOUR VARIATIONS
Brownish black to whitish-gray It has a tricolor, woolly, and soft coat that ranges from brownish-black to whitish-gray in color, webbed feet, and a perfect, large pouch typical of marsupials
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LIFE SPAN : CAPTIVITY / WILD
Captivity: 2 years 11 months
Wild: N/A -
APPROXIMATE SIZE : LENGTH / HEIGHT
Length: 70 cm (28 inches)
Height: Estimated (4 - 6 inches) -
TAIL
30 - 38cm (12 - 15inch)
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WEIGHT
790 grams (1.7 pounds)
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MIGRATION
No migration
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SEX IDENTIFICATION
MALE: Males have pouch where he places his genitalia before swimming
FEMALE: A strong ring of muscle makes the pouch (which opens to the rear) watertight, so the young remain dry, even when the mother is totally immersed in water -
BREEDING SEASON
December America
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REPRODUCTION / GESTATION PERIOD
Reproduction: Once a year
Gestation period: 12 - 14 days -
CLUTCH / LITTER SIZE
1 - 5 youngs
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SIMILAR SPECIES
Common opossum
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LOOK A LIKE
Rats and Rodents
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FARM ANIMAL
No
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FOUNDED IN / DISCOVERED
N/A
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ORIGIN
Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina
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DISTRIBUTION
America
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OCCURRENCE
Families: 19
Species: 363 -
FUEL FOR LIFE / TROPHIC LEVEL
Carnivorous
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SIGNS / MARKS
N/A
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PREDATORS
Roadside hawk
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AVAILABLITY IN ZOO / MUSEUM
Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute has one water opossum
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TO HUMANS
Their aquatic lifestyle poses no danger or threat to human communities
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AS A PET
Not recommended
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KIDS FAVOURITE
No
