#north americas only native marsupial

[stinkypete74]

[crazypossumman]

Once I told a coworker that I really liked possums, and she told me that they were gross. The next day I wore a possum shirt to work (I have like 4 so I didn’t even really think about it), and she said, “Oh. I didn’t think that when you said you like possums it was, like, a personality trait.” It was hilarious, but god damn take it easy with my fragile possum-loving psyche.

[official-opossum-posts]

If one more person calls an opossum a rodent I am going to explode.

[littledoughty]

Here, a gorgeous little possum who wandered into my friend's yard. Perfection.

[taxonomytournament]

Taxonomy Tournament: Mammals

Didelphidae. This order is made up of the opossums, known for playing dead and in some species having prehensile tails. They are the only marsupials native to North America.

Sirenia. This order is made up of sea cows, the dugong and manatee.

[yandere-daydreams]

wait did i miss a discussion about beavers and or groundhogs? personally i would like to talk about porcupines which are the second largest rodent in north america and spin when they feel big emotions

i'm like 78% sure that the beaver groundhog thing is just a community effort to gaslight me, but if we're going to stan any medium sized north american mammal on this blog, it would have to be north america's only native marsupial + the only currently living, non-evil species with opposable thumbs. if anyone else tells you anything else, it's because they're a liar and probably trying to fuck your wife or something.

[saritawolff]

A Patreon request for rome.and.stuff (Instagram) - Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum… that I went a bit overboard with lol. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to draw my favorite ceratopsian, and to digitally adapt my old Pachy marker drawing design.

So! Pachyrhinosaurus! As seen above, there were three known species of Pachyrhinosaurus, living in different locations and eras in Late Cretaceous North America.

The oldest, P. lakustai, was native to the Wapiti Formation of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. It’s known for the extra spikes it has at the center of its frill.

The slightly younger P. canadensis was native to the lower Horseshoe Canyon Formation and the St. Mary River Formation of Alberta and northwestern Montana. It was the largest of the three.

The youngest, P. perotorum, was native to the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska. As this ceratopsid seemingly stayed put during the long, dark, cold Alaskan Winters, it likely had adaptations for keeping warm.

The depiction of a “woolly” Pachyrhinosaurus was first popularized by Mark Witton as a speculative work, but the trope has prevailed. While many paleontologists find a heavy feather covering on a centrosaurine to be highly unlikely, and maintain that the animal’s size and homeothermy would have kept it warm enough, we still have no skin impressions to suggest that P. perotorum was fully scaly. So a feather coating is not completely out of the question (though it is unlikely). Still, I love the look of a woolly Pachyrhinosaurus and how it challenges our previous conceptions of non-avian dinosaurs. Stranger things exist in nature. I had to include a “woolly” option, especially since I already use the guy as my avatar on my paleo Instagram account, SaritaPaleo.

Pachyrhinosaurus was particularly unique in that it seemingly traded off something that had previously worked for other ceratopsians, horns, for a large nasal boss instead. For Pachyrhinosaurus, a battering ram worked better than a sword.

It was herbivorous, using its strong cheek teeth to chew tough, fibrous plants. Perhaps during the dark and cold Winters, P. perotorum would have also dug for roots or even scavenged carcasses. At any rate, from observations of their unusually conspicuous growth banding, it appears growth for P. perotorum would have been stunted during the harsh Winter, but was extremely rapid in the warmer months, an adaptation for the Alaskan climate.

The tundra of the Prince Creek Formation housed a surprising amount of diversity. Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum would have lived alongside smaller ceratopsians like Leptoceratopsids, as well as other ornithischians like the pachycephalosaurine Alaskacephale and the hadrosaurid Edmontosaurus. Theropods such as Dromaeosaurus and Saurornitholestes, as well as a yet unidentified giant Troodontid, lived here as well. P. perotorum’s main predator would have been the tyrannosaur Nanuqsaurus. Small mammals were also somewhat common here, such as Cimolodon, Gypsonictops, Sikuomys, Unnuakomys, and an indeterminate marsupial.

(Btw, the request tier for Patreon starts at only $5 a month. 😉 Link is pinned at the top of my blog.)

[verminedev]

He was a boy, she was the only marsupial native to North America, recognized for its distinctive prehensile tail and nocturnal habits.

[newvegasdyke]

Omg did I ever post the pictures of me petting an opossum?? North America’s only native marsupial and the sweetest little darlings you have ever seen waddle ….

[thelampisaflashlight]

Time for the important questions.

Racoon or Possum?

Thank you for your time *bows*

Much as I love the raccoon, it's gotta go to North America's only native marsupial.

They're delightful lol

[hopitty-hop-hop]

I LOVE POSSUMS THEYRE CUTE!! i dont have a question help uhh what makes your heart flutter from possums?

Ahh Possums are such adorable creatures!!! I’m always happy to find someone else who cares for them as much as I do ☺️💖

I think I just love how interesting they are! They’re the only native marsupial in North America, they have such a low body temperature that they cannot get rabies, they are such a huge part of the ecosystem… I could go on about little facts for Possums, they just cute little guys!!!

[nyandela-catalogue]

what's an opossum.. 😓

dis lil guy!!!

they r native to north america and r one of da only native marsupials in the US!!!

dat 1 in da picture is called Hutch!! here iz an article abt him :3 he iz a Virgina opossum.

they r sooooo cute hehe

-Socker🐈‍⬛

[sukimas]

do you think the "true patriots brake for north america's only native marsupial"/"this man ate my son" bumper sticker owner knows they're an internet sensation

[semiotomatics]

trick or treat!!!! 🎃

OH HELL YEAH

you get a bunch of opossum facts bc i love them 🥺

because of their naturally low body temperature, it's incredibly uncommon for opossums to get rabies

opossums are the only marsupial native to north america north of mexico!!

newborn opossums are the size of a honeybee 🐝

their scientific name, Didelphis virginiana—specifically the "didelphis" bit—comes from the ancient greek "di-" meaning "two" + "delphus" meaning "womb". this is bc female opossums, like all marsupials, have two sets of reproductive systems!!! what!!

only the babies can safely hang by their tails, adults are too heavy. so pls don't pick them up by their tails!! you could break them!!

their back feet have opposable thumbs :o

opossums are very clean, grooming themselves constantly like a cat!!

the whole "opossums eat bucketfuls of ticks" thing is a myth. if they do eat ticks—which they very well might, being opportunistic omnivores—they certainly don't constitute a major component of their diet.

the defense mechanism of "playing dead" is an involuntary action, similar to feinting goats!! if you find one that seems "dead", it's best to leave it be (or move it to a safe spot if it's in the road/whatever), in case it's just passed out. if it is, it'll wake up in a few minutes/hours and waddle off

they're cute as heck

[jackandthevoidstriders]

what a delightful opossum!!! they’re the only marsupial native to north america. such a sweet little creature, aint it? i can give tips for caring for him if you would like, though i have no idea if he was just materialized for one of us to give to you, or if we just plucked him from somewhere — 🧪

[He looks fuckface in the eyes]

“Tell me how to care for a wretched beast of this nature.”

[taxonomytournament]

Taxonomy Tournament: Mammals

Didelphidae. This order is made up of the opossums, known for playing dead and in some species having prehensile tails. They are the only marsupials native to North America.

Cingulata. This order is made up of armadillos, small mammals with a leathery shell.