Black-shouldered Opossum vs Common Pitcher Plant

Caluromysiops irrupta compared with Sarracenia purpurea

Key Differences

• Black-shouldered Opossum is Least Concern while Common Pitcher Plant is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-shouldered Opossum	Common Pitcher Plant
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Didelphimorphia (Didelphimorphia)	Ericales (Ericales)
Family	Didelphidae	Sarraceniaceae
Genus	Caluromysiops	Sarracenia
Species	Caluromysiops irrupta	Sarracenia purpurea

Conservation Status

Black-shouldered Opossum

LC — Least Concern

Common Pitcher Plant

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-shouldered Opossum	Common Pitcher Plant
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-shouldered Opossum

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Colombia.

Common Pitcher Plant

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (11 countries) and North America (United States).

Black-shouldered Opossum

The Black-shouldered Opossum (Caluromysiops irrupta) is a species in the genus Caluromysiops. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Common Pitcher Plant

<em>Sarracenia purpurea</em>, the common pitcher plant, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae, renowned for its pitcher-shaped leaves that trap and digest insects and other small invertebrates in pools of rainwater and digestive fluids. It is native to North America, where it grows in nutrient-poor wetlands including bogs, fens, and peaty swamps, supplementing its nitrogen and mineral intake through animal prey in the absence of adequate soil nutrients. The species has also been widely introduced in Europe, with naturalised populations documented in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, and numerous other countries, where it was introduced via horticultural trade and has established in suitable peat bog habitats. <em>Sarracenia purpurea</em> hosts distinctive aquatic invertebrate and microbial communities within its pitchers, forming a miniature ecosystem. It is assessed as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List globally, though regional assessments exist. Biological traits such as average plant lifespan, precise trap dimensions, and detailed physiological data remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species is threatened by habitat drainage, peat extraction, and invasive species in parts of its range.