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Virginia opossums can vary considerably in size, with larger specimens found to the north of the opossum's range and smaller specimens in the tropics. They measure 33–55 cm (13–22 in) long from their snout to the base of the tail, with the tail adding another 25–54 cm (9.8–21.3 in).
An opossum may also use its tail as a brace and a fifth limb when climbing. The tail is occasionally used as a grip to carry bunches of leaves or bedding materials to the nest. [43] A mother will sometimes carry her young upon her back, where they will cling tightly even when she is climbing or running.
Armadillos are moving into Indiana. In the southeastern U.S., they've been blamed in some cases of leprosy.
(The leprosy bacterium is difficult to culture and armadillos have a body temperature of 34 °C (93 °F), similar to human skin.) [26] Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat. [27] [28] Armadillos are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
A new CDC report suggests cases are rising in some states. Here's what you need to know about the condition.
The question you have to ask is why would anyone want to touch an armadillo in the first place? But there's a very good reason to avoid the odd-looking armored mammals completely. Your health.
The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the southern or black-eared opossum [2] or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including Trinidad and Tobago and the Windwards in the Caribbean, [2] where it is called manicou. [3]
Virginia opossum, native to North America; White-eared opossum, native to South America; Phalangeriformes, also called (o)possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), a common possum in Australian urban areas, invasive in New Zealand