Anderson's mouse opossum

Description

Marmosa andersoni is an opossum from the genus Marmosa that occurs in Peru.The species is known from seven specimens from three different locations in tropical lowland rainforest in the southern department of Cusco.M.andersoni has been described as the sole species of the subgenus Stegomarmosa;what other opossums this species is related to is not yet clear.The animal,a medium-sized opossum,is characterized by,among other things,a row of long brushes at the bottom of the tail and some features of the skull.Marmosa andersoni is a medium sized opossum.The long,soft back is lead-colored,with brown dots;at the bottom of the body,the animal is dirty-white in color,with short,white,woolly fur in the mammary glands.The animal has clear black eye rings.The cheeks and the throat are cream-colored.Behind the nose is a light yellow-brown spot.The transparent ears are gray-brown.They look naked,but contain small hair that is brown on the outside and white on the inside.The vibrissaeon the face are mostly black,but sometimes white;those on the throat and the wrist are always white.The long tail is bi-colored.The coat is soft only at the root.At the top the tail contains dark brown spines,which grow longer towards the point;the bottom contains both dark and light brushes,which become longer,slimmer and lighter (silver-white) towards the tip.Females have nine mammals on the abdomen (four on the two sides and one in the middle).No molecular data is known about M.andersoni.The characteristics on the basis of which the separate subgenus Stegomarmosa was described are characteristics of the skull : the very large protrusion on the frontal;the narrow interorbital area;the contact between the first false tooth and the canine in the lower jaw;and some more features.