Opossums are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of North and South America.
Opossum
An opossum on top of a fence
Virginia opossum feigning death, or "playing possum"
Juvenile Virginia opossum hissing defensively
Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are primarily found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of the defining features of marsupials is their unique reproductive strategy, where the young are born in a relatively undeveloped state and then nurtured within a pouch.
Marsupial
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Female eastern grey kangaroo with a joey in her pouch
Reproductive tract of a male macropod