Opossums (<a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English">/əˈpɒsəm/</a>) are members of the <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial">marsupial</a> order Didelphimorphia (<a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English">/daɪˌdɛlfɪˈmɔːrfiə/</a>) <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemism">endemic</a> to the <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas">Americas</a>. The largest order of marsupials in the <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere">Western Hemisphere</a>, it comprises 126 species in 18 <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus">genera</a>. Opossums originated in <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America">South America</a> and entered <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America">North America</a> in the <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Interchange">Great American Interchange</a> following the connection of North and South America.The <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_opossum">Virginia opossum</a> is the only species found in the United States and Canada. It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum<a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum#cite_note-NationalGeographic-3">[3]</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English">/ˈpɒsəm/</a>; sometimes rendered as 'possum in written form to indicate the dropped "o"). Opossums should not be confused with the <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasian_realm">Australasian</a> arboreal marsupials of suborder <a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalangeriformes">Phalangeriformes</a> that are also called possums because of their resemblance to the Didelphimorphia. The opossum is typically a nonaggressive animal and almost never carries the virus for rabies.<a target="_blank" rel="ugc" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum#cite_note-4">[4]</a>

Files with SHA256: b7251acd05d29924e87c1cf8bdb374b9f1c1353a3fd6faeaf7cfbeefa0e4d05a