Philander deltae, Lew & Pérez- Hernandez & Ventura, 2006

Astúa, D., 2015, Didelphidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 129-186 : 166

60.

Orinoco Four-eyed Opossum

Philander deltae

French: Opossum de I'Orénoque / German: Orinoko-Vieraugenbeutelratte / Spanish: Filandro del delta del Orinoco

Other common names: Deltaic Foureyed Opossum, Delta Opossum

Taxonomy. Philander deltae Lew, Pérez- Hernandez & Ventura, 2006 ,

“ Sector Guanipa , Reserva Forestal de Guarapiche , 24.2 km 160° W Capure, Monagas State, Venezuela, coordinates 10°00’N, 62°49’W, 0 m elevation.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. NE Venezuela, in the Orinoco River Delta and the Gulf of Paria (E Monagas and Delta Amacuro states).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 20-7 cm, tail 30 cm; weight 148-350 g. The Orinoco Four-eyed Opossum has dark brown dorsal fur, especially along broad stripe that runs along dorsum to base oftail. Stripe extends to dorsal surface of limbs, as well as body sides that are mottled dark gray. Rostral fur is darker brown, extending to nape; there are small and ill-defined supraorbital spots. Cheeks are cream-colored. There is no mid-rostral stripe. Tail length is similar to head-body length,tail has fur on its proximal 20%, and naked part oftail is dark brown, except for the distal 25% that is unpigmented. Ventral fur is cream, extending to chin, throat, and ventral side of limbs. Along mid-ventral region, cream-colored fur is restricted to thin stripe, constricted by gray-based hairs. Furis short and velvety. Ears are smaller than in other species of the genus, beige with slightly black edges, and with sparse yellow fur at bases. Females have a pouch, but number of mammae is unknown. Karyotype of the Orinoco Four-eyed Opossum is unknown.

Habitat. [.owto medium-high (15-25 m) evergreen, permanently flooded swamp forests or seasonally flooded marsh forests in the delta of the Orinoco River.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Orinoco Four-eyed Opossum occurs in an area of extensive, suitable habitat that does not appear to be under threat, and presumably it has a large overall population. It occurs in several protected areas: Guarapiche Forest Reserve, Delta del Orinoco (Mariusa) National Park, and Delta del Orinoco Biosphere Reserve. The vast majority of the known distribution of the Orinoco Four-eyed Opossum is uninhabited by humans. The area does not have extensive human settlements, but there have been surveys for oil in the area, and there are plans to drill for oil and build gas pipes, which could represent future conservation threats.

Bibliography. Gardner (2005), Lew et al. (2006), Patton & da Silva (2007).

Figures

65. Pygmy Opossum (Chacodelphys formosa), 66. Agricola’s Opossum (Cryptonanus agricola), 67. Chacoan Mouse Opossum (Cryptonanus chacoensis), 68. Guaiba Mouse Opossum (Cryptonanus guahybae), 69. Unduavi Mouse Opossum (Cryptonanus unduaviensis), 70. . Emilie’s. 9 Opossum.. Gracilinanus. (null), 71. Aceramarca Opossum (Gracilinanus aceramarcae), 72. Agile Opossum (Gracilinanus agilis), 73. Wood Sprite Opossum (Gracilinanus dryas), 74. Northern Gracile Opossum (Gracilinanus marica), 75. Brazilian Gracile Opossum (Gracilinanus microtarsus)

Distribution. NE Venezuela, in the Orinoco River Delta and the Gulf of Paria (E Monagas and Delta Amacuro states).