How big does a Water opossum get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Water opossum (Chironectes minimus) reaches an average size of 29.7 cm (1′ 0″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 3 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 977 grams (2.15 lbs). A Water opossum has 3 babies at once. The Water opossum (genus: Chironectes) is a member of the family Didelphidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
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
- One-striped opossum with a size of 13.7 cm (0′ 6″)
- White-bellied woolly mouse opossum with a size of 16.1 cm (0′ 7″)
- Chacoan pygmy opossum with a size of 8.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Pygmy short-tailed opossum with a size of 7 cm (0′ 3″)
- Derby’s woolly opossum with a size of 23.1 cm (0′ 10″)
- Anderson’s four-eyed opossum with an average maximal age of 0.75 years
- Bushy-tailed opossum with a size of 17.6 cm (0′ 7″)
- Lutrine opossum with a size of 32.4 cm (1′ 1″)
- Tate’s woolly mouse opossum with a size of 16.8 cm (0′ 7″)
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:
- Painted ringtail possum with a size of 26.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Little Swan Island hutia with a size of 33.7 cm (1′ 2″)
- Brown-eared woolly opossum with a size of 27.3 cm (0′ 11″)
- Cape gray mongoose with a size of 35 cm (1′ 2″)
- Bougainville monkey-faced bat with a size of 26.2 cm (0′ 11″)
- Black giant squirrel with a size of 31.9 cm (1′ 1″)
- Cotton-top tamarin with a size of 24 cm (0′ 10″)
- Northern brown bandicoot with a size of 35.4 cm (1′ 2″)
- Mexican prairie dog with a size of 34.2 cm (1′ 2″)
- Bulmer’s fruit bat with a size of 24.5 cm (0′ 10″)
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:
- Short-tailed mongoose
- Bicolored musk shrew
- Southeastern shrew
- Southern short-tailed shrew
- Small Japanese mole
- Eastern woodrat
- Pygmy hog
- White-tailed rat
- Bailey’s pocket mouse
- Plains rat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Water opossum
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Water opossum:
- Long-tailed pygmy possum with an average maximal age of 3.17 years
- Northern pygmy mouse with an average maximal age of 3.25 years
- Talas tuco-tuco with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Sminthopsis laniger with an average maximal age of 3.25 years
- White-footed mouse with an average maximal age of 3.17 years
- Alpine pika with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Long-nosed echymipera with an average maximal age of 2.83 years
- Vinogradov’s jird with an average maximal age of 3.33 years
- Small Japanese mole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Eastern woodrat with an average maximal age of 3 years
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:
- Gunnison’s prairie dog bringing 798 grams to the scale
- Mountain beaver bringing 806 grams to the scale
- Three-striped night monkey bringing 912 grams to the scale
- Hoffmanns’s titi with a weight of 1.07 kilos (2.36 lbs)
- Blanford’s fox bringing 994 grams to the scale
- European polecat bringing 980 grams to the scale
- Sunda slow loris bringing 940 grams to the scale
- Small-toothed sportive lemur bringing 955 grams to the scale
- Eastern white-eared giant rat bringing 867 grams to the scale
- Ashy black titi bringing 992 grams to the scale