biology

Massoia's lutrine opossum

Massoia's lutrine opossum is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Massoia's lutrine opossum rather than just read about it. In short: Massoia's lutrine opossum (Lutreolina massoia) is a species of opossum native to South America. Taxonomy It was formerly considered a disjunct population of the big lutrine opossum (L. crassicaudata), but a 2014 study determined it to be a distinct species and described it as such.

Key takeaways

Massoia's lutrine opossum belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Massoia's lutrine opossum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Massoia's lutrine opossum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Massoia's lutrine opossum (Lutreolina massoia) is a species of opossum native to South America.

Taxonomy It was formerly considered a disjunct population of the big lutrine opossum (L. crassicaudata), but a 2014 study determined it to be a distinct species and described it as such. It is possible that climatic changes in the past led to an expansion of vegetation in the Dry Chaco, allowing the ancestral Lutreolina to cross it, with the later aridification of the Chaco isolating both species and leading to their divergence. This species was named after Argentine zoologist Elio Massoia, who made significant contributions to the knowledge of South American mammal diversity, and was among the first researchers to notice the distinctiveness of the Lutreolina populations of the Yungas.

Distribution It ranges from south-central Bolivia south to northern Argentina, where it is restricted to the Yungas region just east of the Andes. It has a different habitat from L. crassicaudata, being found primarily in lowland savanna grasslands. It seems to primarily use areas with dense ground cover and aquatic environments.

Description L. massoia is smaller in size than L. crassicaudata, and differs in the size and shape of the skull, as well as in the dentition.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Massoia's lutrine opossum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Massoia's lutrine opossum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Massoia's lutrine opossum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Massoia's lutrine opossum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Massoia's lutrine opossum

In research: Massoia's lutrine opossum appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Massoia's lutrine opossum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Massoia's lutrine opossum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics IUCN Red List least concern species, Mammals described in 2014, Marsupials of Argentina, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Massoia's lutrine opossum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Massoia's lutrine opossum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Massoia's lutrine opossum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Massoia's lutrine opossum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Massoia's lutrine opossum in simple terms?

Massoia's lutrine opossum (Lutreolina massoia) is a species of opossum native to South America. Taxonomy It was formerly considered a disjunct population of the big lutrine opossum (L. crassicaudata), but a 2014 study determined it to be a distinct species and described it as such.

Why does Massoia's lutrine opossum matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Massoia's lutrine opossum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Massoia's lutrine opossum.