NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Dwarf Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum
Thylamys velutinus (Wagner, 1842)
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.
Photo of Dwarf Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum uploaded from iNaturalist.
(c) Thomaz Ricardo Favreto Sinani, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The dwarf fat-tailed mouse opossum (Thylamys velutinus), also known as the velvety fat-tailed opossum, is an opossum species from South America. It is endemic to Brazil, where it is found in cerrado and caatinga habitats. Its head-and-body length ranges from 141 to 212 mm (5.6 to 8.3 in), with an average of 173 mm (6.8 in), and its tail length ranges from 73 to 85 mm (2.9 to 3.3 in) with an average 78 mm (3.1 in). Its diet is 44% arthropods; 75% of its diet consists of animals and animal products. Its ventral fur is entirely gray-based. Its hind foot is less than 14 mm (0.55 in), which is short for the genus.
Wikipedia contributors, Dwarf 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 2026-10-05T12:59:08.057357+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Thylamys velutinus (Wagner, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Wagner, 1842)
- Common name
- Dwarf 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 velutinus (Wagner, 1842)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Buff-bellied Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys venustus (Thomas, 1902) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mesopotamian Fat-tailed OpossumThylamys citellus (Thomas, 1912) | DidelphidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Elegant Fat-tailed Mouse OpossumThylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Didelphys velutina Wagner, 1842 Wagner, 1842 | 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=609813 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:56Q6H. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.