What is the maximal age a Common opossum reaches?
An adult Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) usually gets as old as 2.67 years.
Common opossums are around 14 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 3 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 91.1 cm (3′ 0″). As a member of the Didelphidae family (genus: Didelphis), a Common opossum caries out around 7 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 2 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 40.2 cm (1′ 4″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the southern or black-eared opossum or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including the Lesser Antilles, where it is called manicou. It prefers the woods, but can also live in fields and cities.The common opossum is sometimes used by humans for food on islands in the West Indies.
Animals of the same family as a Common opossum
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Didelphidae):
- Delicate slender opossum with 4 babies per pregnancy
- Bushy-tailed opossum bringing the scale to 114 grams
- Mexican mouse opossum becoming 7 years old
- Pygmy short-tailed opossum bringing the scale to 11 grams
- Ihering’s three-striped opossum bringing the scale to 112 grams
- Anderson’s four-eyed opossum becoming 0.75 years old
- Yellow-sided opossum becoming 1 years old
- Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum bringing the scale to 34 grams
- Sepia short-tailed opossum bringing the scale to 36 grams
- Aceramarca gracile opossum bringing the scale to 20 grams
Animals that reach the same age as Common opossum
With an average age of 2.67 years, Common opossum are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Southwestern myotis usually reaching 3.17 years
- Merriam’s pocket mouse usually reaching 2.5 years
- McIlhenny’s four-eyed opossum usually reaching 2.25 years
- Golden mouse usually reaching 2.5 years
- African wading rat usually reaching 3 years
- Fat-tailed false antechinus usually reaching 3 years
- Northern short-tailed shrew usually reaching 2.75 years
- Lutrine opossum usually reaching 3 years
- Long-tailed pygmy possum usually reaching 3.17 years
- Little red kaluta usually reaching 3 years
Animals with the same number of babies Common opossum
The same number of babies at once (7) are born by:
- Lutrine opossum
- Red-tailed phascogale
- Ooldea dunnart
- Southern ningaui
- Yellow steppe lemming
- Lesser bandicoot rat
- Richardson’s ground squirrel
- Northern red-sided opossum
- Fat-tailed dunnart
- Linnaeus’s mouse opossum
Weighting as much as Common opossum
A fully grown Common opossum reaches around 1.14 kg (2.52 lbs). So do these animals:
- Poncelet’s giant rat weighting 1 kilos (2.2 lbs) on average
- Great flying fox weighting 1.02 kilos (2.25 lbs) on average
- Black-footed cat weighting 1.36 kilos (3 lbs) on average
- Greater glider weighting 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs) on average
- Black flying squirrel weighting 1.19 kilos (2.62 lbs) on average
- Tres Marias rabbit with 964 grams
- Sunda flying lemur weighting 1.11 kilos (2.45 lbs) on average
- Monjon weighting 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs) on average
- Malagasy giant rat weighting 1.18 kilos (2.6 lbs) on average
- Red acouchi with 949 grams
Animals as big as a Common opossum
Those animals grow as big as a Common opossum:
- Desert cottontail with 32.5 cm (1′ 1″)
- Reclusive ringtail possum with 33.9 cm (1′ 2″)
- Black bearded saki with 41.6 cm (1′ 5″)
- Pale fox with 43 cm (1′ 5″)
- Tufted capuchin with 42.8 cm (1′ 5″)
- Chinese pangolin with 37.9 cm (1′ 3″)
- Bunyoro rabbit with 47 cm (1′ 7″)
- Small dorcopsis with 38.7 cm (1′ 4″)
- Brazilian porcupine with 46.9 cm (1′ 7″)
- Cream-coloured giant squirrel with 34.3 cm (1′ 2″)