Virginia opossum, known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America.
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11 Facts About Virginia opossum
2.
Virginia opossum is the original animal named "opossum", a word which comes from Algonquian wapathemwa, meaning "white animal".
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3.
The name Virginia opossum is applied more generally to any of the other marsupials of the families Didelphidae and Caenolestidae.
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5.
Virginia opossum's ancestors evolved in South America, but spread into North America as part of the Great American Interchange, which occurred mainly after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 3 million years ago.
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6.
Virginia opossum was not originally native to the West Coast of the United States.
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7.
The Virginia opossum has been found to be very resistant to snake venom.
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8.
The Virginia opossum has a maximal lifespan in the wild of only about two years.
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9.
Around the turn of the 20th century, the Virginia opossum was the subject of numerous songs, including "Carve dat Possum, " a minstrel song written in 1875 by Sam Lucas.
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10.
Not surprisingly, then, the Virginia opossum is featured in several episodes of the hit TV show The Beverly Hillbillies, such as the "Possum Day" episode in 1965.
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11.
Virginia opossum appeared on a TV talk show to predict the 2011 Oscar winners, similar to the World Cup predictions made previously by Paul the Octopus, in Germany.
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