Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 26, 2026

Tate's woolly mouse opossum

Tate's woolly mouse opossum is an omnivorous, arboreal South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae, named by American zoologist George Henry Hamilton Tate. It is native to Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The species lives in both primary and secondary forest, including forest fragments within grassland. Insects are a major component of its diet. It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009. While its conservation status is "least concern", its habitat is shrinking through urbanization and conversion to agriculture over much of its range.

Last revised
May 26, 2026
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Tate's woolly mouse opossum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Genus: Marmosa
Subgenus: Micoureus
Species:
M. paraguayana
Binomial name
Marmosa paraguayana
Tate, 1931
Tate's woolly mouse opossum range
Synonyms

Micoureus paraguayanus (Tate, 1931)
Micoureus travassosi (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1936)

Tate's woolly mouse opossum (Marmosa paraguayana)2 is an omnivorous, arboreal South American marsupial of the family Didelphidae,3 named by American zoologist George Henry Hamilton Tate.4 It is native to Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The species lives in both primary and secondary forest, including forest fragments within grassland.1 Insects are a major component of its diet.1 It was formerly assigned to the genus Micoureus, which was made a subgenus of Marmosa in 2009.2 While its conservation status is "least concern", its habitat is shrinking through urbanization and conversion to agriculture over much of its range.1

References

References

  1. Brito, D.; Astua de Moraes, D.; de la Sancha, N.; Flores, D. (2018) [amended version of 2015 assessment]. "Marmosa paraguayana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T136844A128973570. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T136844A128973570.en. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  2. Voss, R. S.; Jansa, S. A. (2009). "Phylogenetic relationships and classification of didelphid marsupials, an extant radiation of New World metatherian mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 322: 1–177. doi:10.1206/322.1. hdl:2246/5975. S2CID 85017821.
  3. Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2009-09-28). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-8018-9304-9. OCLC 270129903. Archived from the original on 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2011-06-11.