Sairadelphys is an extinct genus of didelphine opossums from the Pleistocene of South America.[1]

Sairadelphys
Temporal range: Pleistocene
~2.6–0.01 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae
Subfamily: Hyladelphinae
Genus: Sairadelphys
E.V. Oliveira et. al., 2011
Type species
Sairadelphys tocantinensis
E.V. Oliveira et. al., 2011
Species
  • Sairadelphys tocantinensis

Taxonomy

edit

Sairadelphys is a didelphine opossum, described as a sister taxon to Hyladelphys. Sairadelphys tocantinensis is the only recognized species, and it is known from deposits in the Gruta dos Mouras cave, Tocantins, Brazil.[1]

Biology

edit

The more flattened molars of Sairadelphys indicate of diet of both fruit and insects. It had an estimated mass of less than 40 g.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Oliveira, Edison Vicente; Villa Nova, Patricia; Goin, Francisco J.; Avilla, Leonardo Dos Santos (24 September 2011). "A new hyladelphine marsupial (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) from cave deposits of northern Brazil" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3041 (1): 51–62. doi:10.5281/zenodo.200799. Retrieved 12 December 2022.