Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum vs

Thylamys pusillus compared with Vibrio cholerae

Key Differences

• Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum is Least Concern while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Proteobacteria (Proteobacteria)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Gammaproteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria)
Order	Didelphimorphia (Didelphimorphia)	Enterobacterales (Enterobacterales)
Family	Didelphidae	Vibrionaceae
Genus	Thylamys	Vibrio
Species	Thylamys pusillus	Vibrio cholerae

Conservation Status

Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum

LC — Least Concern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (10 countries), Asia (4 countries), Europe (6 countries), North America (Mexico), Oceania and the Pacific (Fiji), and South America (6 countries).

Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum

The Common Fat-tailed Mouse Opossum (<em>Thylamys pusillus</em>) is a small marsupial belonging to the genus Thylamys within the family Didelphidae. Like other members of its genus, this species typically stores fat in its tail, which becomes swollen during periods of food abundance and is metabolised during leaner times, a physiological adaptation that provides energy reserves. <em>Thylamys pusillus</em> is generally found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, often in dry woodlands, scrublands, and grassland habitats of South America. The species is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating it is not currently considered at risk of extinction. Detailed geographic range data are not available in the current record, but members of this genus are typically distributed across parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Biological traits including average lifespan, body dimensions, and specific dietary composition remain poorly documented in the scientific literature, though Thylamys species are generally considered omnivorous, often consuming insects, small vertebrates, and plant material.

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative, comma-shaped, highly motile aquatic bacterium and the causative agent of pandemic cholera disease in humans. It inhabits coastal estuaries, river deltas, and warm marine environments, often associated with plankton, particularly copepods. This facultatively anaerobic bacterium spreads through contaminated water and food, causing severe watery diarrhea with major public health impact.