- Long, slender body
- Pointed snout
- Coarse black, grayish white, or reddish fur with white tipped guard
hairs
- Guard hairs act as a raincoat, protecting the opossum from rain and
snow
- The under hair is much softer
- Sometimes has 3 dark streaks: 1 over each eye and 1 along midline
of crown
- Pinkish white face
- Pink nose
- Dark eyes
- Large, leaf-like, hairless ears
- Long rounded tail, 1/10 of base of tail has hair, remainder of tail
is hairless
- Tail is prehensile, which means it can wrap around objects
- Each foot has 5 digits
- Back foot has a large, opposable toe or thumb with no claw, which
is used for grasping
- 50 sharp teeth
- Do not hibernate
- Do not vocalize unless threatened
- Expert at hiding during the day (often more abundant than they appear)
- Slow-moving
- Strong swimmers
- Good climbers
- 50 teeth in a mouth that opens wide and allows it to eat a larger
variety of foods and to scare attackers
- Eats a variety of foods, usually whatever is available since they
are scavengers
- Immune to most contagious and viral diseases
- Prehensile tail, which it wraps around objects to carry material
or secure itself while climbing
- Accumulates fat and become less active in the fall
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