What is the maximal age a Water opossum reaches?
An adult Water opossum (Chironectes minimus) usually gets as old as 3 years.
When born, they weight 39 grams (0.09 lbs) and measure 7.6 cm (0′ 3″). As a member of the Didelphidae family (genus: Chironectes), their offspring is 3 babies per pregnancy. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 29.7 cm (1′ 0″).
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 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
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Didelphidae):
- Gray four-eyed opossum becoming 3.5 years old
- Common fat-tailed mouse opossum bringing the scale to 28 grams
- Bishop’s slender opossum getting as big as 10.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Red mouse opossum bringing the scale to 63 grams
- Chacoan pygmy opossum getting as big as 8.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Wood sprite gracile opossum bringing the scale to 18 grams
- Emilia’s gracile opossum bringing the scale to 7 grams
- Derby’s woolly opossum becoming 5 years old
- Elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum with 10 babies per pregnancy
- Paraguayan fat-tailed mouse opossum bringing the scale to 34 grams
Animals that reach the same age as Water opossum
With an average age of 3 years, Water opossum are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Red-tailed phascogale usually reaching 3 years
- Bower’s white-toothed rat usually reaching 2.83 years
- Star-nosed mole usually reaching 3 years
- Greater white-toothed shrew usually reaching 3.17 years
- Red hocicudo usually reaching 2.58 years
- Vinogradov’s jird usually reaching 3.33 years
- African wading rat usually reaching 3 years
- Winter white dwarf hamster usually reaching 3.17 years
- Southern bog lemming usually reaching 2.5 years
- Northern short-tailed shrew usually reaching 2.75 years
Animals with the same number of babies Water opossum
The same number of babies at once (3) are born by:
- Short-tailed mongoose
- European mole
- Royle’s pika
- Pampas fox
- Desert hedgehog
- Eastern broad-toothed field mouse
- Baluchistan pygmy jerboa
- Severtzov’s jerboa
- Lesser red musk shrew
- Fat sand rat
Weighting as much as Water opossum
A fully grown Water opossum reaches around 977 grams (2.15 lbs). So do these animals:
- Black squirrel monkey with 784 grams
- Southern brown bandicoot with 825 grams
- Big-eared opossum weighting 1.11 kilos (2.45 lbs) on average
- Spotted linsang weighting 1.14 kilos (2.51 lbs) on average
- White-eared titi with 898 grams
- Chestnut-bellied titi with 992 grams
- Indian flying fox with 822 grams
- Sunda flying lemur weighting 1.11 kilos (2.45 lbs) on average
- Great flying fox weighting 1.02 kilos (2.25 lbs) on average
- Nancy Ma’s night monkey with 791 grams
Animals as big as a Water opossum
Those animals grow as big as a Water opossum:
- Yellow mongoose with 29.2 cm (1′ 0″)
- New Britain water rat with 29.2 cm (1′ 0″)
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur with 33.5 cm (1′ 2″)
- Potto with 32 cm (1′ 1″)
- Black jackrabbit with 23.9 cm (0′ 10″)
- Cotton-top tamarin with 24 cm (0′ 10″)
- Northern glider with 25.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Hooded skunk with 30.8 cm (1′ 1″)
- Indonesian mountain weasel with 30.9 cm (1′ 1″)
- Short-tailed chinchilla with 30.5 cm (1′ 1″)