It is hard to guess what a Virginia opossum weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) on average weights 2.46 kg (5.41 lbs).
The Virginia opossum is from the family Didelphidae (genus: Didelphis). They can live for up to 5 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 40.2 cm (1′ 4″). On average, Virginia opossums can have babies 2 times per year with a litter size of 8.
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 Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), commonly known as the North American opossum, is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. In the United States, the animal is typically referred to simply as a possum. It is a solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat. It is a successful opportunist. It is familiar to many North Americans as they frequently inhabit settled areas due to the associated proximity to food sources, notably trash cans.
Animals of the same family as a Virginia opossum
We found other animals of the Didelphidae family:
- Black-shouldered opossum with a weight of 258 grams
- Heavy-browed mouse opossum with a weight of 47 grams
- White-eared opossum bringing 1.03 kilos (2.27 lbs) to the scale
- Northern red-sided opossum with a weight of 79 grams
- Common fat-tailed mouse opossum with a weight of 28 grams
- White-bellied fat-tailed mouse opossum with a weight of 15 grams
- Brazilian gracile opossum with a weight of 29 grams
- Red mouse opossum with a weight of 63 grams
- Tate’s woolly mouse opossum with a weight of 112 grams
- Anderson’s four-eyed opossum with a weight of 324 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Virginia opossum
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Didelphis virginiana:
- Abyssinian hare with a weight of 2.02 kilos (4.45 lbs)
- Giant forest genet with a weight of 2.74 kilos (6.04 lbs)
- Humboldt’s white-fronted capuchin with a weight of 2.52 kilos (5.56 lbs)
- Gray-headed lemur with a weight of 2.4 kilos (5.29 lbs)
- Corsac fox with a weight of 2.62 kilos (5.78 lbs)
- Monk saki with a weight of 2.11 kilos (4.65 lbs)
- Jackson’s mongoose with a weight of 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs)
- Japanese hare with a weight of 2.53 kilos (5.58 lbs)
- Burmese hare with a weight of 2.27 kilos (5 lbs)
- Leopard cat with a weight of 2.78 kilos (6.13 lbs)
Animals with the same litter size as a Virginia opossum
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (8) as a Virginia opossum:
- Campbell’s dwarf hamster
- Taiga vole
- San Joaquin antelope squirrel
- African wild dog
- Golden hamster
- Eurasian least shrew
- Dusky antechinus
- Cheesman’s gerbil
- Townsend’s ground squirrel
- White-tailed antelope squirrel
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Virginia opossum
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Virginia opossum:
- Musky rat-kangaroo with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Woodland thicket rat with an average maximal age of 4.33 years
- Paucident planigale with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Coruro with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Long-legged myotis with an average maximal age of 4.25 years
- Pyrenean desman with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Yellow-necked mouse with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Talazac’s shrew tenrec with an average maximal age of 5.83 years
- Woolley’s false antechinus with an average maximal age of 4 years
- White-bellied duiker with an average maximal age of 5.25 years