Virginia Opossum
Didelphis virginiana Kerr, 1792
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Didelphimorphia |
| Family | Didelphidae |
| Genus | Didelphis |
| Species | Didelphis virginiana Kerr, 1792 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Trogloxene
- Realm
- Terrestrial
Distribution
Range
Known from four counties across four states.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma
Counties
- Alabama
- Madison
- Arkansas
- Lawrence
- Georgia
- Walker
- Oklahoma
- Delaware
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2016.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- United States
- N5 Secure
- Canada
- N4 Apparently Secure
Subnational ranks
- New York
- S5 Secure
- Florida
- SNR Unranked
- Iowa
- S5 Secure
- West Virginia
- S5 Secure
- Nebraska
- S5 Secure
- North Carolina
- S5 Secure
- Arkansas
- S5 Secure
- Tennessee
- S5 Secure
- New Mexico
- SNA Not Applicable
- Vermont
- S5 Secure
- South Carolina
- S5 Secure
- North Dakota
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Arizona
- S3 Vulnerable
- Wyoming
- S5 Secure
- Idaho
- SNA Not Applicable
- Maryland
- S5 Secure
- Illinois
- S5 Secure
- Oregon
- SNA Not Applicable
- Minnesota
- S5 Secure
- Texas
- S5 Secure
- Georgia
- S5 Secure
- New Jersey
- S5 Secure
- Wisconsin
- S5 Secure
- Washington
- SNA Not Applicable
- Mississippi
- S5 Secure
- Pennsylvania
- S5 Secure
- Kentucky
- S5 Secure
- Missouri
- S5 Secure
- Utah
- SNR Unranked
- Rhode Island
- S5 Secure
- Massachusetts
- S5 Secure
- New Hampshire
- S5 Secure
- Louisiana
- S5 Secure
- Colorado
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Ohio
- S5 Secure
- Michigan
- S5 Secure
- Delaware
- S5 Secure
- Oklahoma
- SNR Unranked
- California
- SNA Not Applicable
- Kansas
- S5 Secure
- Virginia
- S5 Secure
- District of Columbia
- S5 Secure
- Indiana
- S5 Secure
- Maine
- S4 Apparently Secure
- South Dakota
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Connecticut
- S5 Secure
- Alabama
- S5 Secure
- Quebec
- S3 Vulnerable
- British Columbia
- SNA Not Applicable
- Ontario
- S4 Apparently Secure
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
References
- Cooper, J.E. 1975. Ecological and behavioral studies in Shelta Cave, Alabama, with emphasis on decapod crustaceans. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA. 364 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B. 2014. 2014 Ozark aquatic subterranean wildlife surveys. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 21 pp.
- Franz, R., Bauer, J. & Morris, T. 1994. Review of biologically significant caves and their faunas in Florida and south Georgia. Brimleyana 20: 1–109. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/229726.
- Heath, D.R., Saugey, D.A. & Heidt, G.A. 1986. Abandoned mine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 40: 33–36.
- Lawson, K.M., Schotz, A.R., Jenkins, A.J., Armbruster, J.W., Black, C., Callahan, M., Goertzen, L., Hansen, C., Stephen, C.D.R., Werneke, D., Mendonca, M. & Molina, E. 2021. Planning level survey of Redstone Arsenal for at-risk species and ecologically significant communities. Environmental Management Division, U.S. Army Garrison, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 402 pp.
- McDaniel, V.R. & Gardner, J.E. 1977. Cave fauna of Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 31: 68–71. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol31/iss1/22.
- Pylka, J.M. 1957. Cave vertebrates of Florida. The Florida Speleologist 1: 6–7.
- Rice, D.W. 1957. Life history and ecology of Myotis austroriparius in Florida. Journal of Mammalogy 38: 15–32. doi:10.2307/1376471
- Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125
How to cite this account
Didelphis virginiana Kerr, 1792. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2380. https://cavebiology.org/species/didelphis-virginiana/ (accessed 7 September 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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