Ecology of the Opossum on a Natural Area in Northeastern KansasFitch, Henry S. (Henry Sheldon)
Science
Ecology of the Opossum on a Natural Area in Northeastern Kansas
Fitch, Henry S. (Henry Sheldon)
Opossums
March 1, 1952 2000 9 Newborn
March 2, 1952 1450 6 Newborn
March 2, 1952 1230 7 Newborn
March 5, 1950 1200 10 About 16 mm. snout to vent
March 5, 1950 1300 1 About 14 mm. snout to vent
March 6, 1951 1110 4 Newborn
March 18, 1952 1930 8 Not present when female
was trapped on March 1
March 18, 1952 1520 6
March 18, 1952 1230 12 About 40 mm. snout to vent
March 19, 1951 1000 8 Estimated 1 week old
March 22, 1950 1040 9 About 34 mm. snout to vent
March 24, 1950 1280 10 74 mm. snout to vent
March 24, 1950 1480 8
March 27, 1950 965 8 Total length 26 mm.,
weight .8 g.
March 28, 1951 820 7 20 mm. crown to rump; born
since previous capture of
female on March 7
March 30, 1950 1325 9 Total length 33 mm.
March 31, 1952 1930 8
March 31, 1952 1630 5 Total length 73 mm.
None of the females trapped in February was carrying young in the
pouch, but probably some early litters are born in the last week of
February or even earlier. By late March most of the females are
carrying young in their pouches, and those which do not have young,
have their pouches enlarged and vascularized for accommodation of the
young. Presumably such females have already borne young and then lost
them. Nearly all the litters seen in the latter half of March had
young that were much larger than at birth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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