NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
McIlhenny's Four-eyed Opossum
Philander mcilhennyi Gardner & Patton, 1972
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum (Philander mcilhennyi) is a South American species of opossum. Found in Brazil and Peru, it is almost entirely black, except for white spots above each eye.
This species is named for John Stauffer "Jack" McIlhenny (1909-1997), a grandson of the founder of the McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco sauce. He funded the 1968 Louisiana State University expedition that discovered the species.
Wikipedia contributors, McIlhenny's four-eyed opossum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:05:41.732400+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Philander mcilhennyi Gardner & Patton, 1972
- Name authority
- Gardner & Patton, 1972
- Common name
- McIlhenny's Four-eyed Opossum
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Didelphimorphia
- Family
- Didelphidae
- Genus
- Philander
- 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
- tribeDidelphini Gray, 1821
- genusPhilander Brisson, 1762
- speciesPhilander mcilhennyi Gardner & Patton, 1972
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Philander. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson's Four-eyed OpossumPhilander andersoni (Osgood, 1913) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray Four-eyed OpossumPhilander opossum (Linnaeus, 1758) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common Four-eyed OpossumPhilander canus (Osgood, 1913) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dark Four-eyed OpossumPhilander melanurus (Thomas, 1899) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Delta OpossumPhilander deltae Lew, Pérez-Hernández & Ventura, 2006 | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Olrog's Four-eyed OpossumPhilander olrogi Flores, Barquez & Díaz, 2008 | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pebas Four-eyed OpossumPhilander pebas Voss, Diaz-Nieto & Jansa, 2018 | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=709377 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4G4WH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.