Research Tips
Finding Short-Tailed Opossum Info
By Molly Kalafut
Introduction
During research phases for this book over the last five years, I've accumulated some tricks and tips for finding information about short-tailed opossums.
Names
The most reliable way to find information about them is looking for "Monodelphis domestica". The Latin term is specific to one animal so if someone is knowledgeable enough to use the scientific name they are usually talking about the right animal. This is helpful because there are 12+ "Monodelphis" opossums that are called "short-tailed opossums", so Monodelphis domestica narrows it down considerably.
These name and spelling variations are useful for searching Google or research journals.
Common "Opossum" name variations
- Opossum
- Oppossum - misspelled
- Opposum - misspelled
- Possum - STO are technically "opossums" not "possums"
Common "Short-Tailed" name variations
- Short-tailed
- Short tailed
- Shorttailed
- Short-tail
- Short tail
- Shorttail
Wrong Names
- Pygmy opossum/possum
- Dwarf opossum/possum
People like to call them "pygmy" and "dwarf" because they are small, but those definitions are not accurate.
Other Names People Use For STO
- Monodelphis domestica - Their scientific name, usually accurate.
- Monodelphis domesticus - This is an incorrect term, their true name is Monodelphis domestica.
- Gray short-tailed opossum - Frequently used in biological, technical or scientific material.
- Short-tailed opossum - Pet owners usually use it to refer to Monodelphis domestica, but in a biological, taxonomic or scientific context it could mean any of the 12+ Monodelphis opossums.
- Rainforest opossum - Usually means STO, but could refer to any of the 60+ opossums found in South America.
- Brazilian short-tailed opossum - Usually refers to Monodelphis domestica, but technically could refer to 12+ Monodelphis opossums found in Brazil.
- Laboratory opossum - Almost always refers to Monodelphis domestica because it is the only opossum used extensively (10,000+) in captivity for research and laboratory tests.
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Library Research
Check out their website before visiting a library for the first time to see if you can be admitted. This is particularly important for a specialized subject, university or college library. Find out if they are open to the public, if certain forms of ID are required, if you are even able to enter (some are restricted to students, faculty, alumni or family).
Determine the library's hours. The hours can vary depending on the season, school session, weekdays or weekend. It's also worth checking out what services you as general public can use - can you check out the books or only use them in-library?
Photocopiers can vary. Some require a student ID to use. Others take coins. Many libraries these days require purchasing a debit card that you add money to - that can require either coins, bills, or a credit card. Find out if they have an ATM or change machine nearby. Luckily many library websites explain their policies.
College and university libraries are particularly friendly to research. Many have workstations for laptops, allow connections to their local network or provide free wireless internet access. Be sure to turn cell phones to silent or vibrate before entering!
When you arrive a library, check their computers first before hitting the stacks for printed journals. Many libraries these days have electronic access to much of their printed collection. You may be able to download the full text or PDF version of many articles in less time and less cost than it takes to find the journal and photocopy it.
When researching in libraries for journal articles, I recommend a little preparation in advance to save a lot of time in the library. Many journal lookup websites (I prefer PubMed) can allow you to print out one sheet of paper per article, listing the article title, authors, source, journal, volume and date - even where in the library to look. I sort the papers alphabetically by journal and date. That way I can start at A in journals and quickly work my way to Z without wandering back and forth. When I find the journal volume, I open to the first page of the article and tuck the sheet of paper into it as a bookmark. This allows for quick lookup either at a desk or in the photocopy area. After photocopying, I staple the print-out (listing title, authors, source, etc) to the article so the papers don't get mixed up.
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Scientific Studies
Articles in scientific journals about STO have a great deal of interesting information about STO biology, taxonomy, breeding and care. These are some helpful resources:
PubMed - This is a great place to look up articles. A search for "Monodelphis domestica" works best and returns around ~400 articles that mention STO in the article title or abstract. The "Link Out" section describes what library collections contain the full text of the articles.
HighWire Press and Science Direct - Access to many journals and full-text articles, some with free access to full text or PDF versions.
