It is hard to guess what a Water opossum weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Water opossum (Chironectes minimus) on average weights 977 grams (2.15 lbs).
The Water opossum is from the family Didelphidae (genus: Chironectes). They can live for up to 3 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 29.7 cm (1′ 0″). Usually, Water opossums have 3 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The water opossum (Chironectes minimus), also locally known as the yapok (), is a marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is the only living member of its genus, Chironectes. This semiaquatic creature is found in and near freshwater streams and lakes from Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina and is the most aquatic living marsupial (the lutrine opossum also has aquatic habits). It is also the only living marsupial in which both sexes have a pouch. The thylacine, commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger, also exhibited this trait, but it is now believed to be extinct.The water opossum lives in bankside burrows, emerging after dusk to swim and search for fish, crustaceans and other aquatic animals, which it eats on the bank.
Animals of the same family as a Water opossum
We found other animals of the Didelphidae family:
- Heavy-browed mouse opossum with a weight of 47 grams
- Emilia’s gracile opossum with a weight of 7 grams
- Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum with a weight of 34 grams
- Sepia short-tailed opossum with a weight of 36 grams
- White-bellied fat-tailed mouse opossum with a weight of 15 grams
- Brazilian gracile opossum with a weight of 29 grams
- Dwarf fat-tailed mouse opossum with a weight of 20 grams
- Woolly mouse opossum with a weight of 107 grams
- Pygmy short-tailed opossum with a weight of 11 grams
- Rufous mouse opossum with a weight of 14 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Water opossum
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Chironectes minimus:
- D’Albertis’ ringtail possum bringing 796 grams to the scale
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur bringing 936 grams to the scale
- Plush-coated ringtail possum with a weight of 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs)
- Milne-Edwards’ sportive lemur bringing 822 grams to the scale
- Cuban solenodon bringing 806 grams to the scale
- Large flying fox with a weight of 1.03 kilos (2.27 lbs)
- European hedgehog bringing 789 grams to the scale
- White-tailed prairie dog bringing 964 grams to the scale
- Eastern woolly lemur with a weight of 1.06 kilos (2.34 lbs)
- Screaming hairy armadillo bringing 930 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Water opossum
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Water opossum:
- Gray-bellied night monkey with a size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Hispaniolan solenodon with a size of 30.6 cm (1′ 1″)
- Brown four-eyed opossum with a size of 26.1 cm (0′ 11″)
- Eastern white-eared giant rat with a size of 33.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- Small-toothed sportive lemur with a size of 32.4 cm (1′ 1″)
- Mexican gray squirrel with a size of 25.2 cm (0′ 10″)
- Short-tailed chinchilla with a size of 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Solomons flying fox with a size of 25.6 cm (0′ 11″)
- Podogymnura truei with a size of 31.3 cm (1′ 1″)
- Gambian mongoose with a size of 35 cm (1′ 2″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Water opossum
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Water opossum:
- Ungava collared lemming
- Malayan field rat
- Water deer
- Yucatan deer mouse
- Common punaré
- True’s shrew mole
- Delany’s mouse
- Numbat
- Père David’s mole
- Large-eared tenrec
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Water opossum
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Water opossum:
- Long-tailed pocket mouse with an average maximal age of 2.5 years
- Field vole with an average maximal age of 3.25 years
- Long-tailed pygmy possum with an average maximal age of 3.17 years
- Alpine pika with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Small Japanese mole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Eurasian water shrew with an average maximal age of 3 years
- African wading rat with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Silvery mole-rat with an average maximal age of 3.08 years
- Coast mole with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Pen-tailed treeshrew with an average maximal age of 2.67 years