Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reproductive Biology of South American Marsupials

  • Chapter
Reproductive Biology of South American Vertebrates

Abstract

Although South America is not well known for its marsupials, it rivals Australia as an important place of evolution and diversity for this group. Marsupialia is the third largest order of South American mammals, after rodents and bats. Approximately 78 marsupial species inhabit South America, representing roughly 10% of its terrestrial mammalian diversity (Kirsch 1977; Streilein 1982), and, although only three of the 15 marsupial families are found in South America, together they represent about 30% of the world’s total of 250 species. In fact, marsupials are found only in the Australian and Neotropical regions with a single species, the Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana, in the Nearctic (temperate North America).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Atramentowicz M (1982) Influence du milieu sur l’activite locomotrice et la reproduction de Caluromys Philander (L.). Rev. Ecol. Terre Vie 36:373–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atramentowicz M (1986) Dynamique de population chez trois marsupiaux Didelphides de Guyane. Biotropica 18:136–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austad SN, Sunquist ME (1986) Sex-ratio manipulation in the common opossum. Nature 324:58–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes RD, Barthold SW (1969) Reproduction and breeding behavior in an experimental colony of Marmosa mitis Bangs (Didelphidae). J. Repro. Fertil. suppl. 6:477–492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns RK, Burns LM (1957) Observations on the breeding of the American opossum in Florida. Rev. Suis. Zool. 64:595–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerqueira R (1984) Reproduction de Didelphis albiventris dans le nord-est du Bresil (Polyprotodontia, Didelphidae). Mammalia 48:95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charles-Dominique P (1983) Ecology and social adaptations in didelphid marsupials: Comparisons with eutherians of similar ecology. In Eisenberg JF, Klieman DG (eds.). Advances in the Study of Mammalian Behavior. Amer. Soc. Mammal., Philadelphia, Philadelphia, pp. 395–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles-Dominique P, Atramentowicz M, Charles-Dominique M, Gerald H, Hladik A, Hladik CM, Prevost MF (1981) Les mammiferes frugivores arboricoles nocturnes d’une foret guyanaise: Interrelations plantes-animaux. Rev. Ecol. Terre Vie 35:341–435.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clemens WA (1977) Phylogeny of the marsupials. In Stonehouse B, Gilmore D (eds.). The Biology of Marsupials. Macmillan Press, London, pp. 51–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cutts JH, Krause WJ, Leeson CR (1978) General observations on the growth and development of the young pouch opossum, Didelphis virginiana. Biology of the Neonate 33:264–272.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE (1945) The annual cycle of plants, mosquitoes, birds, and mammals in two Brazilian forests. Ecol. Mono. 15:245–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg JF (1988) Reproduction in polyprotodont marsupials and similar-sized eutherians with a speculation concerning the evolution of litter size in mammals. In Boyce MS (ed.). Evolution of Life Histories of Mammals. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, pp. 291–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg JF (1989) Mammals of the Neotropics. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg JF, Maliniak E (1967) Breeding the murine opossum Marmosa in captivity. International Zoo Yearbook 7:78–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg JF, Wilson DE (1981) Relative brain size and demographic strategies in didelphid marsupials. Amer. Nat. 118:1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons LH (1990) Neotropical rainforest mammals, a field guide. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enders RK (1966) Attachment, nursing, and survival of young in some didelphids. In Rowlands JW (ed.). Comparative Biology of Reproduction in Mammals. Academic Press, New York. pp. 195–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fadem BH (1985) Evidence for the activation of female reproduction by males in a marsupial, the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). Biol. Repro. 33:112–116.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fadem BH, Trupin GL, Maliniak E, VandeBerg JL, Hayssen V (1982) Care and breeding of the gray, short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). Lab Ani. Sei. 32:405–409.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitch HS, Sandidge LL (1953) Ecology of the opossum on a natural area in northeastern Kansas. Univ. Kan. Mus. Nat. Hist. 7:305–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming MW, Harder JD (1981a) Effect of pregnancy on uterine constituents of the Virginia opossum. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 69A:337–339.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming MW, Harder JD (1981b) Uterine histology and reproductive cycles in pregnant and non-pregnant opossums, Didelphis virginiana. J. Repro. Fertil. 63:21–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming MW, Harder JD (1983) Luteal and follicular populations in the ovary of the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) after ovulation. J. Repro. Fertil. 67:29–34.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming MW, Harder JD, Wukie JJ (1981) Reproductive energetics of the Virginia opossum compared with some eutherians. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 70B:645–648.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming TH (1973) The reproductive cycles of three species of opossums and other mammals in the Panama Canal Zone. J. Mammal. 54:439–453.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner AL (1973) The systematics of the genus Didelphis (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) in North and Middle America. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Genoways HH, Reichart HA, Williams SL (1982) The Suriname small mammal survey: A case study of the cooperation between research and national conservation needs. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 491–504.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey GK (1975) A study of oestrus and fecundity in a laboratory colony ofmouse opossums Marmosa robinsoni. J. Zool. London 175:541–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton WJ (1958) Life history and economic relations of the opossum (Didelphis marsupialis virginiana) in New York State. Cornell University Agriculture Experiment Station Memoir 354:1–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harder JD, Fleming MW (1981) Estradiol and progesterone profiles indicate a lack of endocrine recognition of pregnancy in the opossum. Science 212:1400–1402.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hartman CG (1921) Breeding habits, development, and birth of the opossum. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution 1921:347–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartman CG (1923) The oestrous cycle in the opossum. Am. J. Anat. 32:353–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartman CG (1928) The breeding season of the opossum (Didelphis virginia) and the rate of intrauterine and postnatal development. J. Morphol. 46:143–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill JP (1918) Some observations on the early development of Didelphis aurita. Quart. J. Microsc. Sci. 63:91–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsu M, Harder JD, Lustick SI (1988) Seasonal energetics of opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in Ohio. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 90A:441–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunsaker D (1977) Ecology of new world marsupials. In Hunsaker D (ed.). The Biology of Marsupials. Academic Press, New York. pp. 95–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunsaker D, Shupe D (1977) Behavior of new world marsupials. In Hunsaker D (ed.). The Biology of Marsupials. Academic Press, New York. pp. 279–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jurgelski W Jr, Porter ME (1974) The opossum (Didelphis virginiana) as a biomedical model. III. Breeding in captivity: Methods. Lab Ani. Sci. 24:412–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch JAW (1977) The classification of marsupials with special reference to karyotypes and serum proteins. In Hunsaker D (ed.). The Biology of Marsupials. Academic Press, New York. pp. 1–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch JAW, Calaby JH (1977) The species of living marsupials: An annotated list. In Stonehouse B, Gilmore D (eds.). The Biology of Marsupials. Macmillan, London, pp. 9–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch JAW, Waller PF (1979) Notes on the trapping and behavior of the Caenolestidae. J. Mammal. 60:390–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llewellyn LM, Dale EH (1964) Notes on the ecology of the opossums in Maryland. J. Mammal. 45:113–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNab BK (1986) Food habits, energetics, and the reproduction of marsupials. J. Zool. London 208:595–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNab BK (1989) On the selective persistence of mammals in South America. In Redford KH, Eisenberg JF (eds.), Advances in Neotropical. Mammalogy. The Sandhill Crane Press, Inc., Gainsville, FL, pp. 605–614.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mares MA (1982) The scope of South American mammalian biology: Perspectives on a decade of research. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South American. Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall LG (1978) Chironectes minimus. Mammalian Species 109:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall LG, Case JA, Woodburne MO (1990) Phylogenetic relationships of the families of marsupials. In Genoways HG (ed.). Current Mammalogy. University of Nebraska, Plenum Press, New York. pp. 433–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mascarenhas AEAS (1980) Histologia e inervacao do sistema genital feminino na fase de anestro no gamba Didelphis albiventris (Lund 1841) (Didelphidae Marsupialia) Tese de Mestrado em Morfologia, ICB/UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Motta M, Dezonna JC, Franco AMR (1983) A note on the reproduction of Didelphis marsupialis in captivity. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Rio de Janeiro 78:507–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nogueira JC (1988) Anatomical aspects and biometry of the male genital system of the white-belly opossum Didelphis albiventris (Lund 1841) during the annual reproductive cycle. Mammalia 52:2:233–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell M (1979) Ecology of didelphid marsupials from northern Venezuela. In Eisenberg JF (ed.). Vertebrate Ecology in the Northern Neotropics. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp. 73–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osgood WH (1921) A monographic study of the American marsupial Caenolestes. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series 14:1–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perret M, Atramentowicz M (1989) Plasma concentrations of progesterone and testosterone in captive woolly opossums (Caluromys philander). J. Repro. Fertil. 85:31–41.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petrides GA (1949) Sex and age determination in the opossum. Journal of Mammalogy 30:364–378.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pine RH (1982) Current status of South American mammalogy. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renfree MB (1975) Uterine proteins in the marsupial, Didelphis marsupialis virginiana, during gestation. J. Repro. Fertil. 42:163–166.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds HC (1952) Studies on reproduction in the opossum (Didelphis virginiana virginiana). Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 52:223–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds HC (1953) The opossum. Sei. Amer. 188:88–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigueira SE, Valle CMC, Varejao JBM, Albuquerque PV, Nogueira JC (1987) Algumas observacoes sobre o ciclo reprodutivo anual de femeas do gamba Didelphis albiventris (Lund 1841) (Didelphidae, Marsupialia). Em populacoes naturais no Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 4:129–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal MA (1975) Observations on the water opossum or yapok Chironectes minimus in captivity. International Zoo Yearbook 15:4–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell EM (1982) Patterns of parental care and parental investment in marsupials. Biol. Rev. 57:423–486.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharman GB (1970) Reproductive physiology of marsupials. Science 167:1221–1228.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Streilein KE (1982) Behavior, ecology, and distribution of South American marsupials. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 231–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunquist ME, Austad SN, Sunquist F (1987) Movement patterns and home range patterns in the common oossum, Didelphis marsupialis. J. Mammal. 68:173–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thrasher JD, Barenfus M, Rich ST, Shupe DB (1971) The colony management of Marmosa mitis, the pouchless opossum. Lab Ani. Sei. 21:526–536.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trupin GL, Fadem BH (1982) Sexual behavior of the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). J. Mammal. 63:409–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyndale-Biscoe CH (1973) Life of Marsupials. American Elsevier Publishing Co., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyndale-Biscoe CH (1980) Observations on the biology of marsupials in Colombiaand Venezuala. National Geographic Society Research Report 12:711–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyndale-Biscoe CH, MacKenzie RB (1976) Reproduction in Didelphis marsupialis and Didelphis albiventris in Columbia. J. Mammal. 57:249–265.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tyndale-Biscoe CH, Renfree M (1987) Reproductive physiology of marsupials. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • VandeBerg JL (1983) The gray short-tailed opossum: A new laboratory animal. Inst. Lab Ani. Res. News 26:9–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallis RL, Maynes G (1973) Ontogeny of thermoregulation in Macropus parma (Marsupialia: Macropodidae). J. Mammal. 54:278–281.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. John D. Harder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University School of Medicine South Bend Center for Medical Education, University of Notre Dame, 46556, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA

    William C. Hamlett

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Harder, J.D. (1992). Reproductive Biology of South American Marsupials. In: Hamlett, W.C. (eds) Reproductive Biology of South American Vertebrates. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2866-0_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2866-0_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7701-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2866-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation