Genus Lutreolina
The "Thick-Tailed Opossum"
Lutreolina Pictures
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Lutreolina crassicaudata
(Desmarest, 1804)
Names
- English: Thick-Tailed Opossum
- Czech: vačice tlustoocasá
- German: Dickschwanzbeutelratte
- Portuguese: Cuíca
- Russian: ТОЛСТОХВОСТЫЙ ОПОССУМ
- Spanish: Coligueso
- Spanish: Mbicuré Rojizo
- Spanish: Comadreja Colorado
These opossums are found east of the Andes in Argentina (northern), Bolivia, Brazil (southern), Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay and Uruguay. They are considered the most carnivorous of all South American opossums. Their weight ranges from 200-500 grams (Fowler, 2001), but is listed as 537 grams elsewhere (Olifers, 2004). Interestingly enough, marsupials in general have a lot of REM sleep, and Lutreolina crassicaudata has one of the highest amounts of REM sleep of any species - around 6 hours of REM sleep and 18 hours sleep per day total, compared to 2 hours of REM sleep and 8 hours per day total for humans (Siegel, 2001). The longest recorded lifespan in captivity is 3 years, according to Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fish (Carey & Judge, 2001).
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