The 27 species in the genus Marmosa are relatively small Neotropical members of the family Didelphidae.[1] This genus is one of three that are known as mouse opossums. The others are Thylamys (the "fat-tailed mouse opossums") and Tlacuatzin, the grayish mouse opossum. Members of the genus Marmosops used to be called "slender mouse opossums", but are now just called "slender opossums". The thirteen members of the Marmosa subgenus Micoureus, known as woolly mouse opossums, were formerly considered to be a separate genus,[2] but were moved into Marmosa in 2009.[3][4] Based on a comparison of sequences of one mitochondrial and three nuclear genes, three new subgenera, Eomarmosa, Exulomarmosa and Stegomarmosa, were recognized by Voss et al. in 2014.[4] Eomarmosa and Exulomarmosa, as well as Marmosa and Micoureus, are thought to be sister taxa, while Stegomarmosa is viewed as sister to Marmosa plus Micoureus. Exulomarmosa is a mostly trans-Andean (west of the Andes) clade.[4]

Marmosa
Robinson's mouse opossum (Marmosa robinsoni)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Subfamily: Didelphinae
Tribe: Marmosini
Genus: Marmosa
J. E. Gray, 1821
Type species
Didelphis marina
Subgenera
  • Eomarmosa
  • Exulomarmosa
  • Marmosa
  • Micoureus
  • Stegomarmosa

Subgenus Eomarmosa Voss, Gutierrez, Solari, Rossi & Jansa 2014

Subgenus Exulomarmosa Voss, Gutierrez, Solari, Rossi & Jansa 2014

Subgenus Marmosa J. E. Gray 1821

Subgenus Micoureus Lesson 1842

Subgenus Stegomarmosa Pine, 1972

Cladogram of living Marmosa[6][7]
Eomarmosa

M. rubra

Exulomarmosa

M. mexicana

M. simonsi

M. isthmica

M. zeledoni

M. robinsoni

M. xerophila

Stegomarmosa

M. lepida

M. andersoni

Marmosa

M. murina

M. tyleriana

Micoureus

M. paraguayanus

M. alstoni

M. demerarae

M. constantiae

M. regina

References edit

  1. ^ Gutiérrez, EE; Jansa, SA; Voss, RS (2010). "Molecular systematics of mouse opossums (Didelphidae: Marmosa): assessing species limits using mitochondrial DNA sequences, with comments on phylogenetic relationships and biogeography" (PDF). American Museum Novitates (3692): 1–22. doi:10.1206/708.1. hdl:2246/6076. S2CID 52085421.
  2. ^ Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Order Didelphimorphia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 3–18. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ Voss, R. S.; Jansa, S. A. (2009). "Phylogenetic relationships and classification of didelphid marsupials, an extant radiation of New World metatherian mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 322: 1–177. doi:10.1206/322.1. hdl:2246/5975. S2CID 85017821.
  4. ^ a b c Voss, Robert S; Gutiérrez, Eliécer E; Solari, Sergio; Rossi, Rogerio V; Jansa, Sharon A (2014). "Phylogenetic relationships of mouse opossums (Didelphidae, Marmosa) with a revised subgeneric classification and notes on sympatric diversity". American Museum Novitates (3817): 1–27. doi:10.1206/3817.1. hdl:2246/6556. S2CID 52082932.
  5. ^ "A revision of the didelphid marsupial genus Marmosa". digitallibrary.amnh.org. 8 December 2021. hdl:2246/7287.
  6. ^ Upham, Nathan S.; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Jetz, Walter (2019). "Inferring the mammal tree: Species-level sets of phylogenies for questions in ecology, evolution and conservation". PLOS Biol. 17 (12): e3000494. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494. PMC 6892540. PMID 31800571.
  7. ^ Amador, Lucila I.; Giannini, Norberto P. (2016). "Phylogeny and evolution of body mass in didelphid marsupials (Marsupialia: Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 16 (3): 641–657. doi:10.1007/s13127-015-0259-x. S2CID 17393886.