Editing Opossum (section)

{{short description|Family of mammals}}
{{for multi|the Australasian marsupials known as "possums"|Phalangeriformes|other uses|Opossum (disambiguation)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Didelphidae<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Gardner|pages=3–18}}</ref>
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Early Miocene | Recent}}<ref>{{cite journal|author= Goin, Francisco |author2=Abello, Alejandra |author3=Bellosi, Eduardo |author4=Kay, Richard |author5=Madden, Richard |author6=Carlini, Alfredo |title= Los Metatheria sudamericanos de comienzos del Neógeno (Mioceno Temprano, Edad-mamífero Colhuehuapense). Parte I: Introducción, Didelphimorphia y Sparassodonta |journal=Ameghiniana|volume=44|issue=1|pages=29–71|year=2007|url=http://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?pid=S0002-70142007000100003&script=sci_abstract}}</ref>
| image = Didelphis virginiana with young.JPG
| image_caption = [[Virginia opossum]], ''[[Didelphis]] virginiana'', the only U.S. and Canadian species (mother with nine young)
| display_parents = 2
| parent_authority = [[Theodore Nicholas Gill|Gill]], 1872
| type_genus = ''[[Didelphis]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| taxon = Didelphidae
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|J. E. Gray]], 1821
| diversity = 126 species
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genera]]
| subdivision = [[#Classification|See text]]
}}

'''Opossums''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|p|ɒ|s|ə|m|z}}) are members of the [[marsupial]] order '''Didelphimorphia''' ({{IPAc-en|d|aɪ|ˌ|d|ɛ|l|f|ᵻ|ˈ|m|ɔːr|f|i|ə}}) [[Endemism|endemic]] to the [[Americas]]. The largest order of marsupials in the [[Western Hemisphere]], it comprises 126 species in 18 [[Genus|genera]]. Opossums originated in [[South America]] and entered [[North America]] in the [[Great American Interchange]] following the connection of North and South America in the late [[Cenozoic]].

The [[Virginia opossum]] is the only species found in the United States and Canada. It is often simply referred to as an '''opossum'''; in North America, it is commonly referred to as a '''possum'''<ref name="NationalGeographic">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/opossums/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221153623/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/opossums/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2017 |title=Opossums |magazine=[[National Geographic]] |access-date=September 21, 2018}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɒ|s|əm}}; sometimes rendered as ''{{'}}possum'' in written form to indicate the dropped "o"). The [[Australasian realm|Australasian]] arboreal marsupials of suborder [[Phalangeriformes]] are also called possums because of their resemblance to opossums, but they belong to a different order. The opossum is typically a nonaggressive animal and almost never carries the virus that causes [[rabies]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Rabies: A Forgotten Killer Greatest Risk from Wildlife, Especially Bats |url=https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/rabies/pdf/vs-0612-wildlife-rabies-h.pdf |publisher=CDC}}</ref>