NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Agile Gracile Opossum
Gracilinanus agilis (Burmeister, 1854)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Gracilinanus agilis. Agile gracile opossum. Cuíca-graciosa. Sitting in a Sherman trap.
Naturalselections · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The agile gracile opossum (Gracilinanus agilis) is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
It is nocturnal, arboreal and frequents the forest understory, where they use slender branches and vines. Found in evergreen and gallery forests. It is a characteristic inhabitant of the gallery forest of southern South America but has broad habitat tolerance. It has been caught under fallen trunks, in tree holes, and in moist woodland. It is reported to be an adept climber, and nests made of vegetation have been found 1.6 m off the ground. One such nest contained seven individuals. In eastern Paraguay it has usually been captured in vegetation but sometimes has been caught on the ground. This marsupial is found throughout the Brazilian cerrado, usually associated with mesic areas such as gallery forests. This mouse opossum is reported to have up to twelve young. Females lack a true pouch, and the teats remain hidden when the female is not lactating. Gracilinanus agilis has a semelparous life cycle.
Wikipedia contributors, Agile gracile opossum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:04:42.476321+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gracilinanus agilis (Burmeister, 1854)
- Name authority
- (Burmeister, 1854)
- Common name
- Agile Gracile Opossum
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Didelphimorphia
- Family
- Didelphidae
- Genus
- Gracilinanus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
- orderDidelphimorphia Gill, 1872
- familyDidelphidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyDidelphinae Gray, 1821
- tribeThylamyini Hershkovitz, 1992
- genusGracilinanus Gardner & Creighton, 1989
- speciesGracilinanus agilis (Burmeister, 1854)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gracilinanus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Sprite Gracile OpossumGracilinanus dryas (Thomas, 1898) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern Gracile OpossumGracilinanus marica (Thomas, 1898) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brazilian Gracile OpossumGracilinanus microtarsus (Wagner, 1842) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Didelphys agilis Burmeister, 1854 Burmeister, 1854 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552538 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3H59B. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.