NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Elegant Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum
Thylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839)
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
The elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys elegans), also known as the Chilean mouse opossum, is an opossum from central Chile. The type species of Thylamys, it was first described by English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse in 1839. This medium-sized opossum is characterized by black rings around the eyes, white limbs, gray to light brown coat, lighter flanks and underbelly and a thick 12.7–14.6 centimetres (5.0–5.7 in) long tail covered with hairs. It is crepuscular (active mainly around twilight) and lives in nests in tree hollows or under rocks and roots. This opossum feeds mainly on arthropods and larvae apart from fruits. Litter size is typically between 11 and 13. The elegant fat-tailed opossum can occur in a variety of habitats – from cloud forests to chaparrals. The IUCN classifies the opossum as least concern.
Wikipedia contributors, Elegant fat-tailed mouse opossum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:05:16.149665+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Thylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839)
- Name authority
- (Waterhouse, 1839)
- Common name
- Elegant Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Didelphimorphia
- Family
- Didelphidae
- Genus
- Thylamys
- 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
- genusThylamys Gray, 1843
- speciesThylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Thylamys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys velutinus (Wagner, 1842) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buff-bellied Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys venustus (Thomas, 1902) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mesopotamian Fat-tailed OpossumThylamys citellus (Thomas, 1912) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Karimi's Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys karimii (Petter, 1968) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pallid Fat-tailed OpossumThylamys pallidior (Thomas, 1902) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Argentine Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys sponsorius (Thomas, 1921) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tate's Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys tatei (Handley, 1957) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Didelphis elegans Waterhouse, 1839 Waterhouse, 1839 | 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=609809 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:56Q68. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.