Volume 30, Plate III / Mammalia (Mammals)

Three-Striped Opossum

Didelphys tristriata

A tiny opossum scarcely larger than a common mouse, with a pointed head, small ears, and a short scaly tail, measuring some four inches in head and body and deep rich brown above with yellowish brown beneath. It bears three black stripes along the back, a broad central one from between the eyes to the tail and a lateral one on each side, and native to Brazil it has strong burrowing fore claws and likely feeds on insects.