Marmosops neblina
Creators: name: Astúa, D.
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Didelphimorphia
Didelphidae
Marmosops
Marmosops neblina

description: 96.
Neblina Slender Opossum
Marmosops neblina
French: Opossum du Neblina / German: Neblina-Schlankbeutelratte / Spanish: Marmosa esbelta de Neblina
Other common names: Cerro Neblina Slender Mouse Opossum
Taxonomy. Marmosops impavidus neblina Gardner, 1990,
“ Camp VII (00°50’40"N, 65°568’10”W), 1800 m, Cerro de la Neblina, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela.”
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. S Venezuela (Amazonas), W Brazil (Amazonas, Acre), E Ecuador, and NE Peru (Loreto); quite possibly in SE Colombia.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 11.2-14.2 cm, tail 14-17.8 cm; weight 29-45 g. The Neblina Slender Opossum has rich dark brown dorsal fur. Head is similarly colored on crown, lacking mid-rostral stripe. Muzzle and mid-rostral fur are only slightly paler than dorsum. Eye-rings are large and indistinct, and cheeks are frosted white. Tail length is c.125% of head-body length, and tail has fur on proximal 13 mm and is bicolored on its naked part, brown basally and turning gradually paler toward distal end, and uniformly colored or paler ventrally. Ventral fur is gray-based, dark gray washed with brownish, sometimes with a pure white mid-ventral stripe from chin to anus, constricted by lateral bands of gray-based hairs on abdominal and inguinal regions. Fur is ¢.7 mm long on rump. Hindfeet have white toes, forefeet are dark, and ears are dark brown. Females lack a pouch, but number of mammae is unknown. The Neblina Slender Opossum has a 2n = 14, FN = 24 karyotype, with all biarmed autosomes, and with a small biarmed X-chromosome and a very small acrocentric Ychromosome. Males are larger than females.
Habitat. Elfin forest on the Cerro de la Neblina tepui in Venezuela, seasonal floodplain forests or disturbed river-edge areas in Brazilian Amazonia, and secondary forests in Peru.
Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.
Breeding. Juveniles and subadult Neblina Slender Opossums were collected in wet and dry seasons along the Rio Jurua, in W Amazonia, suggesting that reproduction occurs all year long. In Peru, a female with signs of recent lactation was collected in January, and juveniles were collected in December—January.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Neblina Slender Opossum is probably nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Neblina Slender Opossum seems to frequently use the ground. In Brazilian Amazonia, two individuals were captured at c.1-5 m above the ground, but nine others were captured in traps placed on the ground. All specimens from Venezuela were caught on the ground.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Although Neblina Slender Opossums are reported from three disjunct localities, they are likely found in all of the Amazon Basin, and populations are presumably large.
Bibliography. Diaz, M.M. (2014), Emmons & Feer (1997), Gardner (2005), Gardner & Creighton (2007a), Melo & Sponchiado (2012), Mustrangi & Patton (1997), Patton & Costa (2003), Patton et al. (2000).
description: Published as part of Astúa, D., 2015, Didelphidae, pp. 129-186 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 183-184, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6685333