15 Cool Facts About Opossums

Female Opossum with jerseys. Photo By daynaw – Pixabay

15 Cool Facts About Opossums

The opossum is not your typical warm-fuzzy animal. This hamster look-alike has maintained a pretty bad rep and notorious character amongst humans.

Opossums, alongside raccoons, are well known for being garbage rummagers. They are also said to bite humans and harbor ill diseases. These myths are, however, not true.

On the contrary, opossums have pretty interesting facts known to few.

1. Opossums Are Often Confused For Possums

Common ringtail possum, Brisbane. Photo By Andrew Mercer – Wikimedia Commons

Yes, you read it right. One would think possum was the abbreviated term for opossum. Well, it’s not.

Possums are mostly found in Australia and New Guinea. More often than not, the native Australasian marsupial is confused for the opossum.

In North America however, the opossum is referred as ‘possum (with an apostrophe at the beginning of the noun). Despite being different species, the two animals do resemble each other in appearance.  

2. They Existed 23 Million Years Ago

The oldest opossum fossils are said to have belonged to the late Oligocene-early Miocene period. It was dated about 23 to 33 million years ago.

The opossums originated from the Amazon rainforest of South America. They diversified in size and adaptation in the late Miocene period. They migrated to North America during the Great American Biotic Interchange.

They then spread across both countries and reproduced extensively. These mammals are now the largest order of marsupials in Australia and both Americas.

See 15 mind-blowing facts you didn’t know about South America. 

3. There Are Over 50 Different Opossum Species

Opossums have about 90 different species, the most common being the Virginia opossum and the gamba. The Virginia opossums are found in Canada and the U.S. The gamba is found in the tropical forests of Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago.

Interesting fact: The Virginia opossum is the only pouched mammal found in both the United States and Canada.

4. The Name Opossum Is A Derivative Of A Native American Language

Opossum in a zoo. Photo source Pixabay

The opossum got its name from a group of Native Americas called the Powhatan. They used the term aposoum (white animal) to refer to the pouched mammal.

Opossums are, however, not primarily white. The majority of these species are grey in color. Some are brown while others are black. Only a few are white.

5. It Has The Shortest Mammalian Gestation Period in North America

The opossum foetus lives in the female womb for 12 to 13 days. This makes it the second mammal in the world with the shortest gestation period. The Australian stripe-faced dunnart is the first with 11 days.

Opossums give birth to around 16 to 20 joeys (baby opossums) which are the size of a rice grain. The young ones then spend 70 days feeding and incubating in the female pouch. Since they are highly dependent on their mother for milk, not all get to survive.

Learn 15 fun facts about Australia on the Discover Walks website.

6. They Have A Lot Of Teeth

Opossums have a pair of 25 teeth on each jaw. That’s a total of 50 teeth! These teeth might appear small in size but they are very sharp.

Similar to the shedding of human deciduous teeth, the opossum’s first set of teeth are re-absorbed by their jaws before the growth of adult teeth.

7. Opossums Can Play Dead For Upto 4 Hours

Virgiana opossum (Didelphis virgiana) feigning death. Photo By Tony Alter – Wikimedia Commons

Ever heard of the term playing possum? The phrase is used to describe someone who consciously avoids another by pretending to be dead/asleep.

For opossums, playing dead is their main involuntary defense mechanism. The physical state naturally occurs when the opossum is in shock or fear. Its body forces an actual comatose that proceeds to 30 minutes or four full hours!

The opossums go on a full-on act; mouth opened, limbs tightly gripped, drool running from their mouth all while curled up into a ball. They even emit a stench similar to a carcass!

8. Opossums Have Multiple Defense Mechanisms

Aside from feigning death, the opossum’s alternative ways of self-protection are drooling and showing off their aggressive dental formula. The heavy drooling is meant to create the impression that it is sick and therefore, unsafe for consumption.

When the opossum identifies an incoming predator, it shows its fierce teeth as a sign of aggression. Its long canines and sharp premolars are intimidating and scare off potential threats when the animal is cornered.

9. They Don’t Bite Humans

Opossum showing set of teeth. Photo By Roy Guisinger – Pixabay

An opossum will eat anything it sets its eyes on. The omnivores mammal feeds on snakes, fruits, insects, carcasses, snails, rats, cockroaches, and grains.

Despite this, cases of opossum bites are very rare. Though their protruding canines might scare off humans, they only result in biting as a last option.

10. They Are Clean Freaks

Just like the cat, the opossum is obsessed with cleanliness. Not cleanliness of its environment but of its body. They are constantly licking their limbs and furry bodies to keep away dirt and ticks.

Opossums do tidy up after devouring their successful hunt. They also clean up after other scavengers.

11. It Can Survive Over 50 Venomous Snake Bites

Opossums can survive up to 80 bites from rattlesnakes before succumbing to death. These mammals have a peptide chain in their blood that neutralizes venom from the slithering creatures. Talk about 80 lives!

The opossum’s peptide has been under scientific study for over thirty years. It has been successfully tested on mice and is said to be an effective antivenom.

Learn more about snakes and 15 interesting facts here.

12. They Have Poor Eyesight During The Day

Opossums in the wild. Photo By Jack Bulmer – Pixabay

Opossums are nocturnal mammals. They are active during the night due to poor daytime eyesight. Their big pupils are always dilated which means they have better night vision.

The daylight-impaired marsupials hunt for food in the nighttime and spend their days sleeping. Their nocturnal nature makes them less noticeable to predators.

13. Opossums Have A Low Body Temperature

Opossums have a body temperature of 34⁰ C, a significantly low degree compared to other mammals. Their low temperature is advantageous because viruses such as rabies find it difficult to survive in their bodies.

A regular opossum might be confused for a rabid animal because of its drooling and growling nature. Many think that these mammals are disease carriers when they actually aren’t

14. Opossums Rarely Live Past One Year

Despite having multiple defense mechanisms and an array of prey, the opossum only survives from 52 to 104 weeks in the wild. They are highly targeted by predators and often have slim chances of making it past 2 years. Opossums under the care of humans live up to 4 years.

Due to their involuntary comatose adaptation, opossums are often run over by vehicles on the highway. This is also another reason why they have such a short lifespan.

15. They Make A Finger-licking Meal

In the United States, the Virginia opossum has been known to be one of South Carolina’s cuisines. Some were reared on farms while others were hunted in the wild.

Many times, opossum meat is accompanied by sweet potatoes and can be used as an alternative to rabbit meat. In Mexico, the opossum tail is believed to have healing properties. Its oil was also used as an arthritis remedy.

Though there are plenty of myths about the opossum, they sure do have some fascinating facts. They may not clean up after flipping your garbage can, but these pouched mammals still remain an essential part of biodiversity.

Interested in other animals found in the United States, read about 10 fascinating facts about Zoo Atlanta.