CreatureData

Common opossum

Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758

LCLeast Concernmarsupials

The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) is a species in the family Didelphidae, order Didelphimorphia. Recorded adults weigh 1.09 kg to 1.65 kg and live up to 4 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis)
Photo: Rabipelao.jpg : Juan Tello derivative work: WolfmanSF ( talk ) · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common opossum

Weight
1.09 kg – 1.65 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
4 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
7 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
14 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
6.2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
5.58 months – 7.88 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
2src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the common opossum live?

Not recorded

What is the common opossum?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the northern black-eared opossum, is a species of marsupial living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Windward Islands in the Caribbean, where it is referred to as the manicou. The common opossum prefers forests, but can also be found in fields and cities.

From the Wikipedia article “Common opossum” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_opossum&oldid=1378662656), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the common opossum endangered?

The common opossum is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the common opossum classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderDidelphimorphia
  5. familyDidelphidae
  6. genusDidelphis
  7. SpeciesDidelphis marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Didelphis marsupialis caucae, Didelphis marsupialis marsupialis

Other names and names in other languages (47)
  • Black-eared opossumEnglish
  • Black-eared opossumEnglish
  • Northern black-eared opossumEnglish
  • Southern opossumEnglish
  • Southern opossumEnglish
  • أبوسوم شائعArabic
  • Sariga comúnAragonese
  • Didelphis marsupialisBulgarian
  • Oposom boutinBreton
  • Opòssum comúCatalan
  • vačice opossumCzech
  • PungrotteDanish
  • SchwarzohropossumGerman
  • SüdopossumGerman
  • Κοινό ΠόσουμGreek
  • FaraSpanish
  • Chucha orejinegraSpanish
  • Comadreja GrandeSpanish
  • RabipeladoSpanish
  • Tacuazín comúnSpanish
  • Tlacuache sureñoSpanish
  • ZarigüeyaSpanish
  • Zarigüeya comúnSpanish
  • Zarigüeya común de orejas negrasSpanish
  • Zorro PelónSpanish
  • aito-opossumiFinnish
  • Opossum communFrench
  • ManikouFrench
  • Pian à oreilles noiresFrench
  • Sarigue AustraleFrench
  • Manicougcf
  • fiahordó oposszumHungarian
  • Opossum comuneItalian
  • ミナミオポッサムJapanese
  • 커먼주머니쥐Korean
  • StorøreopossumNorwegian Bokmål
  • Zuidelijke OpossumDutch
  • Midden-Amerikaanse OpossumDutch
  • Dydelf północnyPolish
  • dydelf czarnouchyPolish
  • gambáPortuguese
  • Gambá-comumPortuguese
  • mucuraPortuguese
  • SinikQuechua
  • Южный опоссумRussian
  • Северный опоссумRussian
  • Bayağı opossumTurkish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common opossum

Other species in the same genus Didelphis.

CompareCommon opossum vs Virginia opossumCommon opossum vs White-eared opossumCommon opossum vs Big-eared opossumCommon opossum vs Andean white-eared opossum

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the common opossum?

An adult common opossum weighs 1.09 kg – 1.65 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the common opossum endangered?

The common opossum is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the common opossum live?

The common opossum has a recorded lifespan of 4 years.

How long is the common opossum pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 14 days.

What kind of animal is the common opossum?

The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) belongs to the family Didelphidae in the order Didelphimorphia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-opossum

MLA

“Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-opossum.

BibTeX
@misc{common_opossum_2026,
  title = {Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-opossum},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}