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Animal Age

How old does a Gray short-tailed opossum get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Gray short-tailed opossum reaches?

An adult Gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) usually gets as old as 6 years.

Gray short-tailed opossums are around 14 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 16.28 kg (35.88 lbs) and measure 0.9 cm (0′ 1″). As a member of the Didelphidae family (genus: Monodelphis), a Gray short-tailed opossum caries out around 7 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 4 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 14.8 cm (0′ 6″).

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.

A Gray short-tailed opossum gets as old as 6 years

The gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) is a small South American member of the family Didelphidae. Unlike most other marsupials, the gray short-tailed opossum does not have a true pouch. The scientific name Monodelphis is derived from Greek and means “single womb” (referring to the lack of a pouch) and the Latin word domestica which means “domestic” (chosen because of the species’ habit of entering human dwellings). It was the first marsupial to have its genome sequenced. The gray short-tailed opossum is used as a research model in science, and is also frequently found in the exotic pet trade. It is also known as the Brazilian opossum, rainforest opossum and in a research setting the laboratory opossum.

Animals of the same family as a Gray short-tailed opossum

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Didelphidae):

Animals that reach the same age as Gray short-tailed opossum

With an average age of 6 years, Gray short-tailed opossum are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Gray short-tailed opossum

The same number of babies at once (7) are born by:

Weighting as much as Gray short-tailed opossum

A fully grown Gray short-tailed opossum reaches around 94 grams (0.21 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Gray short-tailed opossum

Those animals grow as big as a Gray short-tailed opossum: