AnAge entry for Didelphis virginiana

Classification (HAGRID: 02129)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Didelphimorphia
                Family: Didelphidae
                    Genus: Didelphis
Species: Didelphis virginiana
Common name: Virginia opossum

Maximum longevity: 6.6 years (captivity)
Source: ref. 671
Sample size: Medium
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: In the wild, these animals do not live more than 2 or 3 years. One animal has been known to live 6.6 years in captivity [0671]. Animals living on predator-free islands, live longer, start reproducing at later ages, have smaller litter sizes, and appear to age slower than their mainland counterparts [0695].

: No information is available on life history. Please contact us if you wish to suggest or contribute data.

[1143] Nussey et al. (2013), Senescence in natural populations of animals: widespread evidence and its implications for bio-gerontology (PubMed)
[1136] Gomes et al. (2011), Comparative biology of mammalian telomeres: hypotheses on ancestral states and the roles of telomeres in longevity determination (PubMed)
[0978] Jones et al. (2009), PanTHERIA: a species-level database of life history, ecology, and geography of extant and recently extinct mammals
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology
[0420] White and Seymour (2003), Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3 (PubMed)
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0695] Austad (1993), Retarded senescence in an insular population of Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana)
[0473] Austad (1988), The adaptable opossum
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves