science

Southern four-eyed opossum

Southern four-eyed opossum is a science 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 Southern four-eyed opossum rather than just read about it. In short: The southern four-eyed opossum (Philander quica) is a species of opossum from South America. Taxonomy This species was described in 1824 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in his 1824 work Monographies de Mammalogie.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The southern four-eyed opossum (Philander quica) is a species of opossum from South America.

Taxonomy This species was described in 1824 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in his 1824 work Monographies de Mammalogie. Similar to many early marsupials, this species was originally described in the genus Didelphis. This species was considered a valid species until 1935, when the Brazilian zoologist Alípio de Miranda-Ribeiro would consider it a subspecies of the gray four-eyed opossum. The Atlantic Forest populations of Philander were considered to be Philander frenatus by James L. Patton & Maria Nazareth Ferreira da Silva in 1997, but the holotype of P. frenatus was collected in eastern Brazil near the city of Belém, well outside the range of this species. P. frenatus was collected by Friedrich Wilhelm Sieber, who never collected from near the Atlantic Forest. In 2018, P. frenatus was synonymized with Philander opossum, leaving "Philander quica" as the oldest valid name for this species. Analysis of the cytochrome b and nucDNA of most members of the genus Philander has shown P. quica to be the sister taxon to all other Philander species. This species is recognized by the American Society of Mammalogists, but not by the IUCN.

Etymology "quica" seems to come from a native name for this species. It is derived from the Portuguese word "cuíca", itself derived from a Tupi word.

Description The upper fur on this species is grayish, with darker underfur and darker near the ears and face. The underside is yellowish to whitish, with some gray colors near the sides, between the forearms, and on the bottom of the neck and jaw. It has two spots above each eye that are the same color as the underside. The tail is bald, and gray for half to two-thirds of its length, then white on the distal half to distal third. This species ranges in size from 230 mm (9.1 in) to 620 mm (24 in), averaging 487 mm (19.2 in). The tail length averages 262 mm (10.3 in) of this length, ranging from 170 mm (6.7 in) to 320 mm (13 in). Despite this wide range of sizes, there is no physical difference between populations across their range.

Range & Habitat This species is found in southern Brazil, northeastern Argentina, and eastern Paraguay. Its range likely comes into contact with that of the common four-eyed opossum (P. canus) where the Atlantic Rainforest comes into contact with other forests, in Brazil and Paraguay. This is the only Philander species known from the Atlantic Rainforest. This species is endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest, where it occupies almost all habitats within the region. It has been recorded from lowland forests, submontane forests, costal scrub, and even agricultural fields.

Ecology Similar to its congeners, this species is a true omnivore, consuming fruits, flowers, seeds, invertebrates, carrion, and small vertebrates. This species specifically has been recorded feeding on seeds, birds, mammals, reptiles, and various invertebrates, with birds and beetles being the most common prey items. This species is primarily terrestrial, nocturnal, and solitary. Litters average roughly 3-6 young per litter.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Southern four-eyed opossum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Southern four-eyed opossum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Southern four-eyed 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 Southern four-eyed 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 Southern four-eyed opossum

In research: Southern four-eyed opossum appears in science 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 Southern four-eyed 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: Southern four-eyed opossum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fauna of the Atlantic Forest, Mammals described in 1824, Mammals of Paraguay, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Southern four-eyed 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 Southern four-eyed opossum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Southern four-eyed 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.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Southern four-eyed opossum in simple terms?

The southern four-eyed opossum (Philander quica) is a species of opossum from South America. Taxonomy This species was described in 1824 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in his 1824 work Monographies de Mammalogie.

Why does Southern four-eyed opossum matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Southern four-eyed 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 Southern four-eyed opossum.