The Opossum in American History : The opossum was the first marsupial discovered by the Europeans in the late 1400s by the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (commander of Christopher Columbus ship, the Niña) and presented it at court to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, the Spanish monarchs that ruled Spain at this time. In the early 1600s Captain John Smith of the Jamestown colony wrote the first English description of this marsupial and called it an opossum the anglicized algonquin name appaum. Additional opossum facts: the opossum is the only marsupial native to the United States the opossum is has the shortest gestation period of any mammal which lasts for only about 12 ½ days opossums do not have a vaginal birth but are born through a special birth canal the long, naked rat-like tail of the opossum is prehensile its hind foot is shaped like a tiny human hand opossums also are well known for feigning death or playing possum the jaws of the opossum contain fifty teeth, more than most other mammals opossums are not affected by snake bite or venom from bees, wasps or spiders
Opossum Information
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Infraclass: Metatheria Order: Didelphimorphia Family: Didelphidae Genus: Didelphis Species: virginiana Please visit the Free Book Page Shop for Opossum Books and Merchandise Opossum Links to Visit www.enature.com www.opossum.org/ www.opossumsocietyus.org/Book.htmlhttp://astore.amazon.com/opossums-20http://astore.amazon.com/opossums-20http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=MA0062http://www.opossum.orghttp://www.opossum.org/http://www.opossumsocietyus.orgshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3shapeimage_3_link_4shapeimage_3_link_5shapeimage_3_link_6
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