Water possum 6 letters crossword puzzle. Water possum

Currently, the modern fauna includes several species of possums, but most of them became extinct during evolution. However, even after most of these marsupials disappeared, some opossums still adapted to the new conditions and are currently a thriving species. Currently, their population is mainly concentrated on the American continent, in its northern and southern parts. It is interesting that in some species the leather bag has lost its functionality during evolution.

Description

An opossum is a small marsupial mammal that resembles a rodent in appearance.. The first representatives of this species appeared in the Cretaceous period, that is, about 100 million years ago, and have not changed significantly since then.

This is interesting! The size of an adult male reaches 60 cm, females are slightly smaller, approximately 50-55 cm. This applies to the largest species; smaller varieties can be 15-20 centimeters each and weigh from 50 grams to 2 kilograms.

The muzzle of these animals is elongated, the tail is usually not covered with hair, with a fatty thickening at the base, and it has a purely practical purpose: with the help of it the animal grabs branches when moving through the trees, and holds on to them during daytime sleep. The possum's body is covered with short, thick, dense fur. Its color is very diverse and can be from light to black, it all depends on the habitat and species. The front legs are much more developed than the hind legs; there are 5 sharp claws at the ends of the legs.

All opossums are active at night; during the day they sleep in trees or in burrows. The structure of the jaws indicates the primitiveness of the opossum; they have 50 teeth, of which 4 canines. The life expectancy of an opossum in the wild reaches up to 5 years, in captivity with proper care and diet up to 7 years or more. The protective mechanism of these animals is very interesting and deserves special attention. By nature, the opossum is very timid and when in danger, it pretends to be dead, lying motionless, and with the help of special glands it produces an unpleasant odor reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing body. The predator, having sniffed it, most often leaves. After this, the animal instantly “comes to life” and runs away. It must be said that such tactics bring great success for the survival of the species. These other animals are noble sleepyheads, they can sleep up to 19 hours a day.

Habitat

According to scientists, in prehistoric times these animals were very widespread throughout modern Europe, as evidenced by paleontological excavations. Opossums are now thriving in the New World. Glaciers and the associated climate cooling affected these territories less than Europe. Possums are most common in North and South America and Argentina, but recently they have been actively expanding into more northern territories. They also live in southeastern Canada and the Lesser Antilles.

Opossums live in forests of all types, steppes and even semi-deserts. They can be found both in flat areas and in mountainous areas at altitudes up to 4000 meters. There are species that lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle, settling near bodies of water and building burrows in tree hollows. But most of them still lead an arboreal or terrestrial lifestyle.

This is interesting! There are opossums that settle near human habitation, but most often avoid communication with people.

Nutrition

Opossums are omnivores in their diet.. They feed on insects, various roots, fruits and berries, and less often can go out on real hunting, but this is more typical for large species. Lizards, rodents such as mice, rats and even rabbits can be hunted.

In general, nutrition depends on the type of opossum and its habitat conditions. There are even aquatic possums, they feed mainly on fish, and sometimes they can hunt frogs and small water snakes. In times of famine, cases of cannibalism often occur. These animals have a good appetite, but the point is not their gluttony, it’s just that opossums thus create fat reserves for “difficult” times.

Reproduction

The opossum leads a solitary lifestyle. However, during the mating period they form a pair, but this does not last long. After the end of the mating season, which lasts from December to January, the animals disperse again. Opossums are very prolific animals. Pregnancy in females is very short and lasts only 20-25 days, in small species pregnancy can last only 15 days, from 8 to 15 cubs are born in a litter, in rare cases their number can reach 25. Cubs are born completely unadapted to life, more like embryos, their size is about the size of a bee and weighs from 2 to 5 grams.

This is interesting! The period of feeding the offspring with milk is quite long and lasts up to 100 days. During this time, small opossums are actively developing and gaining weight. After about 2 months, they gradually become covered with fur and their eyes open.

After this, they can switch to adult food. Sexual maturity occurs at 6-8 months in both females and males. Some species of opossum carry their young in a pouch, but most do not have one and therefore females carry their young on their backs.

Types of possums

Here are a few of the most common types of possums. They are all different in lifestyle, size, diet and habitat.

The most famous of all. This is a fairly large species of this animal, it can reach the size of a domestic cat and weigh up to 6 kilograms. But as a rule, the usual weight is 4.5-5 kilograms. Inhabits forests, mainly near water bodies. It feeds on cereals, small lizards, insects, and mushrooms. They eat carrion less often.

It is also a fairly large animal weighing up to 6 kilograms. Most often it inhabits moist forests, but can also be found on prairies. It feeds on small rodents, birds, and destroys nests. Can successfully attack young rabbits.

Leads an aquatic lifestyle. It feeds on fish, crayfish and freshwater shrimp, and sometimes eats fruit. It catches food with its front paws while floating. Unlike other species, these opossums give birth to quite a few cubs, from 1 to 6, while others have from 8 to 20 babies.

This is a small animal up to 15 centimeters in size. Inhabits mountain forests at altitudes up to 2500 meters. It feeds on insects, fruits and bird eggs. There are up to 12 cubs in a litter.

This is a very small species. Body length reaches 12-16 centimeters, and weight up to 120 grams. They live on plains, mainly in low and dense grass. Often settles near human habitation.

Patagonian possum. Also a small species of opossum, its body reaches a length of 13-15 centimeters and weighs only 50 grams. It feeds mainly on insects, and less often on small birds or lizards.

Opossums are very shy animals.. Whenever there is any danger, they run away or pretend to be dead, so they are not easy to catch. But scientists found a way out: it turned out that these animals have a craving for alcohol. To catch a possum, you just need to place saucers with an alcoholic drink along the paths of the animals. They will drink it with great pleasure and, having lost the ability to move, they can be safely collected.

Of all the senses, according to scientists, these animals have the most developed sense of smell. Another interesting fact is that they hardly make any sounds, except when they are in pain.

This is interesting! Almost all types of possums are wandering animals and do not have their own fixed territory in which they hunt, as is the case with other animals.

These animals are often used as pets, although in our country this is exotic, since they are quite capricious in their maintenance. In addition, possum fur is used as a material for making clothing and fashion accessories. True, it does not differ in quality and durability and therefore is not popular.

Opossum as a pet

The opossum can be kept at home as a pet. But exotic lovers should be disappointed. These are nocturnal animals and it will be very difficult to accustom them to the human daily routine. You should feed him fresh food: fruits, chicken, insects, worms. You should absolutely not feed them fatty meats, as this can make them sick. If you get a pair of possums, then they need to be kept in separate cages, otherwise fights and conflicts are inevitable. Possums should never be punished as they can bite seriously.

Water opossum, or Japanese- Chironectes minimus or Chironectes panamensis - carnivorous opossum, living in tropical and subtropical rain forests in the territory from southern Mexico to Argentina, distributed in Central and South America - Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, eastern Brazil up to northern Argentina. Settles along bodies of water with running water. Encounters have been recorded in mountainous areas.

Yapok leads a semi-aquatic lifestyle. It has webbed hind feet, thick oily fur, and a pouch that has the ability to close tightly so as not to get the cubs wet, and they can spend several minutes in conditions of oxygen starvation. Both males and females have a pouch, but only females can close it, although in the former, the muscles press the pouch to the body when the animal quickly swims or runs. The length of the body including the head is 270-400 mm, the tail - 310-430 mm. Coloring it possum unique among this family. The fur is short, water-repellent, marbled in color - gray and black spots. The back is darker than the belly. The muzzle, stripes near the eyes and the top of the head are black, with a light stripe running across the forehead to the ears. The tail is black fluffy at the base, then naked, yellow or white at the end. The ears are short and bare. Above the eyes are fragments of long fur, turning into whiskers, which have tactile functions. The front feet are unwebbed with long, bare, sensitive toes and shortened toes. A special growth of the wrist bone resembles sixth finger.

The yapok feeds on crayfish, shrimp, fish, frogs, and possibly aquatic vegetation and fruits. It catches prey while it is floating, grabbing it with its front paws. The mating season is observed in December-January (Brazil). A female with cubs was encountered in February. There are 1-5 cubs in a litter, with an average of 3.5. The cubs grow fur on the 22nd day after birth, they acquire body color on the 28th day, and colored spots appear on the 34th day. Their eyes open on the 38th day, and at the age of 40 days they are old enough to do without a bag, which their size does not allow them to fit into: their heads are in the bag, and their bodies are outside it. On the 48th day after birth, they release their nipples from their mouths, but are still under the protection of their mother, they sleep with her, and sometimes climb onto her back.

They lead a solitary lifestyle and do not form family groups, with the exception of a female with cubs. Active at night. Spends most of his life under earth in burrows near water, each burrow has a nesting chamber insulated with grass and leaves, a tunnel about 0.6 m long, directed at an angle of 45 degrees, and an exit into a reservoir at a height of 102 mm above the water level. They collect material for nest construction with their front paws and transport them by pushing them through the tunnel using their tail. Life expectancy in conditions of detention is 2 years 11 months.

When a person hears the word “rat”, the association that arises in the imagination does not seem pleasant. Of course, we are not talking about all people, but about the vast majority, because there are those who adore these creatures of nature. So, when you hear the word “rat,” your brain pictures an unpleasant small animal with a sharp face, a wet nose that looks like a button, and a long tail with no hair at all. And if you need to imagine an opossum, then, most likely, many people will remember the picture of the animals from the cartoon “Ice Age”. These characters are not so nasty, unlike the first-mentioned ones. Now let's try to imagine a combination of the listed creatures, and even with an incredible ability to live in an aquatic environment. Who will succeed? The answer is simple - the water possum, which will be discussed below.

Who is this swimming animal?

Before introducing today's hero, it must be said that he is quite rare to meet. This opossum does not live in our latitudes at all, but prefers South and some parts of Central America, Mexico and Argentina. From this it becomes clear that the animal is very thermophilic. The animals were given the nickname “Yapok” due to the fact that they once inhabited the banks of the Oyapok River in French Guiana. The water possum is a rat, but not a simple one, but a marsupial, and even a waterfowl. By the way, this is the only representative of the order of mammals that has the ability to live in water.

Description of the waterfowl possum

The swimmer is not exactly small: the body length can reach 40 cm, and the unusual animal can weigh up to 3 kg. The tail is the same as that of an ordinary rat - bald. In length it is comparable to the body of a mammal, in some cases exceeding its size by several cm. The color of the coat of the water possum is gray with large black spots or vice versa. By the way, waterfowl have a kind of fur that can repel water, and our hero is no exception.

What does the water possum eat?

Marsupial waterfowl prefer to feast on snails, small crustaceans and fish, which they catch quite professionally with their webbed feet. However, having caught prey, the mammal climbs out of the water to slowly taste the catch. The animals prefer to hunt at night, in complete darkness.

Since water possums spend most of their time in the water, they are, of course, excellent swimmers: mammals use their hind legs as flippers and their tail as a rudder. It is worth saying that all water swimming rats, called opossums, without exception, both females and males, are endowed with a pouch. However, females have an airtight pouch, while males do not. They use it to hide their scrotum while in the water. Sometimes the bag is used for the same purposes on land, for example, when an animal runs quickly through tall grass. While on land, water possums use some types of algae and sweet fruits of fruit trees as food. They also build burrows above the water, often from leaves that they carry with their tail. Choose a secluded place for housing: under snags or in the roots of trees.

Opossums are contemporary with dinosaurs. During the 200 million years of their existence, these marsupials remained primitive mammals, not far removed from the “maternal branch” on the tree of evolution. However, they easily adapt to different climatic and nutritional conditions; Thanks to this, opossums have spread throughout South and most of North America, all the way to Canada.

The North American opossum is a very cunning one. As soon as he feels that the enemy is about to overtake him, he immediately falls on his side and pretends to be dead. It turns out that the opossum does this very naturally: the corpse lies like a corpse, and the eyes are glassy, ​​and the paws are outstretched, and even the mouth is slightly open. This imaginary death, catalepsy, often saves the animal’s life. The pursuer, after sniffing the possum's motionless body several times, usually leaves. And a little later the possum comes to life: it turns over, looks around, and then jumps up and runs away.

The possum also drops dead if it is too frightened. Perhaps this behavior of the animal is not pretense at all, but a shock reaction in response to fear. And this is due to the physiological characteristics of the animal.

Opossums live in bushes or forests. Active time of day for opossums: night and twilight.

Opossums are omnivores. They can feed on both insects and small mammals, eggs, chicks, fruits, and berries. Opossums have a memory for poisons they have ever encountered in food. In human settlements, possums can feed on garbage; they calmly enter houses and poultry yards in search of food.

Possums sleep, and a lot, when it gets cold. But like many of our animals, they do not go into hibernation. Their sleep is often interrupted. The sun will come out, warm up - and the animal, although there is snow all around, wakes up, looking for something to eat.

Opossums are unsociable animals and love solitude. Only during the mating season do males and females unite. Yes, the mother does not part with her children until they grow up.

The body length of this animal sometimes reaches 50 cm, while the length of the tail is up to 53 cm. The tail of opossums is mobile and grasping, and is completely or partially devoid of hair. Opossums weigh from 2 to 5 kg. An adult male North American opossum reaches the size of an average house cat.

Opossums reach sexual maturity in the first year of life. Pregnancy in females lasts from 12 to 16 days. Up to 25 cubs are born in a litter. The most prolific of all opossums is the common (North American) opossum, females of which can give birth to 24 babies, but usually those that first attach to the mother's nipples survive. The female bears children in the pouch for up to 70 days.

Most do not have a pouch, and some females carry their young in it. The mother carries the grown babies on her back.

In the United States and Canada, opossums work as sanitation workers, eating carrion and controlling insect and rat populations.

Keep a possum at home

In the USA, only North American opossums (common opossum), which are laboratory animals.

The common opossum is a nocturnal animal. Unlike other animals, which in case of danger try to hide as quickly as possible, possums, on the contrary, freeze and pretend to be dead. To scare, the opossum opens its mouth, showing all 50 of its teeth.

At home, the North American opossum can live up to 10 years. Under natural conditions, very few of them survive to the second year. Opossums are fairly calm animals. Each possum has its own character and temperament. The optimal age to take possums into your home is 1 - 2 months. During the training process, harsh punishments should absolutely not be applied to opossums. This will lead to anger and the animal will begin to bite. Aggression also manifests itself when the possum is constantly kept in a cage.

Opossums are excellent climbers and it is not difficult for them to climb up a tree. The tail helps them cling to branches, balance, and also carry away the objects they need. However, they cannot hang down using their tail.

Litter training an opossum is no more difficult than a cat or ferret. Place the tray next to their sleeping place, as well as in those rooms where you release the animal. However, you should know that, just like ferrets, among possums there are both animals with an accurate hit and those that are not so accurate.

Opossums do not require frequent bathing. A healthy possum has no smell. Opossums are fairly clean animals and take care of the cleanliness of their skin. If there is an odor from the possum, then no shampoo will save you from it: this can only be a consequence of some kind of disease.

Just like ferrets, opossums' lifespan is directly dependent on their diet. Opossums will not live long if you feed your possum commercial food (regardless of its quality). The opossum's diet should consist of natural fresh or frozen foods, but in no case prepared foods.

There are a number of inconveniences when keeping possums in your home. Opossums do not like to be picked up and there are some problems when trying to put them in a cage. The cage must be cleaned very often. Opossums need constant access to water or they may die. These animals are active at night. Cannibalism is common among opossums. This is usually the result of poor husbandry, overcrowding, stress, poor diet, or keeping possums of different sizes together.

Health

Unlike other predators, possums have a more stable immunity to rabies. Opossums are carriers of diseases such as leptospirosis, tuberculosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, typhus, toxoplasmosis, coccidosis, trichomoniasis, and Chagas disease. They can also be infested with fleas, ticks and lice. Opossums are hosts for dog and cat fleas.

(Chironectes minimus), or a swimming marsupial rat. It lives in Central and South America and is really similar to our rat, but still cuter. The possum is 30–40 centimeters in size (males are larger than females) and has a hairless tail the same length as a rat’s. The animal uses it as a rudder when it swims, raising its eyes and nose slightly above the water level. The water possum has adapted to a semi-aquatic nocturnal lifestyle, and therefore its hind legs are larger than its front legs, and even with a membrane between its toes. It uses its front legs to grab prey, and its hind legs for swimming.

A notable feature of water possums is their pouch. It opens backwards and performs different functions in females and males. Females use it to bear offspring: the bag closes very tightly and hermetically, so that the cubs can be exposed to low oxygen concentrations for several minutes. While the female is swimming, her offspring are in the pouch, as if in a submarine. In males, the pouch does not close tightly and is used to hide the genitals while swimming. According to some sources, this helps them swim better and reduce water resistance, according to others, this strategy helps to avoid hypothermia of the genitals, and still others suggest that it helps avoid getting entangled in algae.

The water possum is the only marsupial that can live in water. His excellent hearing and long whiskers help him hunt well in water in complete darkness. It mainly feeds on animal food - arthropods (crayfish, crabs, insects that it catches in the water) or snails, as well as small fish and frogs - if it can be caught.

Since possums eat a lot of aquatic insects and larvae, they play the role of one of the regulators of their populations. Sometimes plant foods were found in the animals' diet - algae and even the fruits of trees growing on land. Once the possums even ate two bats - the spectacled one ( Carollia perspicillata) and yellowshoulder ( Sturnira lilium) leaf-noses. True, this happened due to the fault of the researchers: the animals climbed into a trap set for other animals. Water possums do not usually behave this way in the wild.

Water possums live on land, although near a body of water - a stream or river. It is also desirable that there be a forest nearby. Animals often dig deep holes that can withstand low water levels in the roots of trees. Complex burrows from the entrance descend underground in a tunnel at an angle of 45 degrees. The length of the tunnel reaches 60 cm and ends with a nest where the opossum lives. In addition to burrows, animals may also have daytime nests, which they use as places to rest. These nests are located on the ground in a dark place, close to the burrow, and are made from collected grass and leaves. Opossums try not to leave excrement in or near the hole, perhaps so as not to attract attention, since many animals come to drink.

Males and females reach sexual maturity at about 10 months, and since they are very unsocial and like to stay alone, they use pheromones to attract the opposite sex. The female gives birth to 3–4 cubs, which immediately climb into her pouch. On the 22nd day, their hair begins to appear, and by the fortieth day their eyes open. By this time they become too large and begin to gradually fall out of the mother's pouch. The cubs become independent at 45–60 days, but continue to stay close to their mother to feed on milk. Water possums live on average two years.

Nadezhda Potapova