Opossum

Opossums (colloquially possums)(Didelphimorphia, /daɪˌdɛlfɨˈmɔrfiə/) make up the largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, including 103 or more species in 19 genera. They are also commonly called possums, though that term technically refers to Australian fauna of the suborder Phalangeriformes. The Virginia opossum was the first animal to be named an opossum; usage of the name was published in 1610. The word opossum was borrowed from the Virginia Algonquian (Powhattan) language in the form aposoum and ultimately derives from the Proto-Algonquian word *wa˙p- aʔθemw, meaning "white dog" or "white beast/ animal". Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene.

Their unspecialized biology, flexible diet and reproductive strategy make them successful colonizers and survivors in diverse locations and conditions.^{[citation needed]}

Didelphimorphs are small to medium-sized marsupials, with the largest just exceeding the size of a large house cat, and the smallest the size of a small mouse. They tend to be semi-arboreal omnivores, although there are many exceptions. Most members of this taxon have long snouts, a narrow braincase, and a prominent sagittal crest. The dental formula is: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac{ 5.1.3.4}{ 4.1.3.4} . By mammalian standards, this is a very full jaw. The incisors are very small, the canines large, and the molars are tricuspid.

Islamic State Turns Mosul University Chemistry Lab into Bomb Factory

Edit Breitbart 04 Apr 2016

Officials have discovered that Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) jihadis have been using a chemistry laboratory at Mosul University to make bombs used by ISIS jihadists throughout the region ... ....

photo: Creative Commons / Gage Skidmore

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin speaking at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.

Up to 300,000 Wisconsin Voters Could Be Barred from Polls Thanks to Scott Walker

Edit Democracy Now 04 Apr 2016

On Tuesday, voters head to the polls in Wisconsin for both the Democratic and Republican primaries as one of the country’s toughest voting restrictions takes effect ... We speak with Ari Berman, author of "Give Us the Ballot ... ....

photo: AP / Khalid Mohammed

Suspected members of the Islamic State group wait to be taken for interrogation after being found among civilians returning to Ramadi for the first time since the city was taken back by Iraqi government forces earlier this year, in Ramadi, Iraq, Sunday, April 3, 2016.

Behind Isis lines: 'You are not prisoners. Prisoners don't get to choose what they want for breakfast'

Edit The Guardian 04 Apr 2016

The German writer Jürgen Todenhöfer was the first western journalist allowed to enter Isis-controlled Syria and Iraq – and to return safely. In an extract from his book, he describes what he saw in Raqqa and Mosul, and the chilling moment he realised that his angry, masked driver was one of the world’s most-wanted men. Sunday 7 December 2014 ... He murmurs a greeting in English in a strikingly rhythmic accent ... Twitter ... Poor ones pay less ... ....

photo: Creative Commons / Mifter

Police Pull Mississippi Man From Car, Taser Him, Pepper Spray Him, For Playing Loud Music

Edit WorldNews.com 04 Apr 2016

The Mississippi County chapter of the NAACP is seeking an investigation after police officers pulled a black man from his car, Tasered and pepper sprayed him and arrested him for playing music too loud, local television station WREG reported ... As he explains to the officers that his brakes don’t work, they begin pulling him from the car without allowing him to unbuckle his seat belt ... He then screams as another officer pepper sprays him....

photo: NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a foreign ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, 2 December, 2014.

Why NATO Is a Necessity

Edit Time Magazine 04 Apr 2016

After four years as the Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, I can understand some of the frustrations that are being bandied about. The European allies don’t pay enough, the organization is a relic of the Cold War, NATO has lost its mission and is obsolete. While Donald Trump is leading the band, there are certainly plenty of other detractors, and all of the criticisms have a grain of truth to them ... is far closer ... And yes, Mr ... ....

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$5,000 Reward Offered for Help in Nabbing Criminal Who Shot and Killed up to Five Animals (PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

Edit Public Technologies 04 Apr 2016

(Source. PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). PETA Joins Berkeley Police in Search for Culprit Who Targeted Stray and Wild Animals. For Immediate Release .. April 4, 2016. Contact.. Lakisha Ridley 202-483-7382. Berkley, Ca. - Last Saturday, a groundskeeper at Berkeley Marina found a feral cat, an opossum, and three raccoons lying on the 100 block of Seawall Drive ... Original Document ... (noodl....

Longmont police changing the way they respond to certain calls

Edit Denver Post 02 Apr 2016

Results of a police study into changing several types of call responses. Sick or injured wild animals. When Animal Control is not on duty, police do not respond to small injured wild animals like rabbits, opossums, squirrels, rats, mice, birds and reptiles. The primary carriers of rabies in North America are raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes and coyotes ... Welfare checks on intoxicated people with no associated criminal behavior ... screaming ... ....

New taxidermy class a hit at Michigan high school

Edit Philadelphia Daily News 01 Apr 2016

CROSWELL, Mich. (AP) - Students all over the U.S. dissect animals as a kind of high school rite of passage. New taxidermy class a hit at Michigan high school. Not many, though, stuff and mount the critters afterward ... So far, it's been a hit ... "This is one of the best classes that I've had, because it's a very hands-on class," Barker said, taking a break from fleshing an opossum he trapped in his grandfather's backyard ... Road kill counts ... ....

Hey You Wild Fox: Smile! You’re on Camera (Fairfax County, VA)

Edit Public Technologies 30 Mar 2016

(Source. Fairfax County, VA). SHARE POINT ... The number of cameras in place varies at a given time based on species activity, season and research/management objectives ... These include deer, black bear, fox, raccoon, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, Virginia opossum, Canada goose, turkey vulture, eastern wild turkey, numerous songbirds and even bobcats (although these are rare).'Katherine Edwards, wildlife management specialist ... (noodl....

Coyote Alert (Village of Northfield, IL)

Edit Public Technologies 29 Mar 2016

(Source. Village of Northfield, IL). The Village occasionally receives complaints regarding coyotes, especially when they encounter a dog or cat ... Experts say coyotes are more aggressive in early spring because they are bearing their young ... • Do not attempt to feed, pet, or tame a coyote ... They are a very adaptable species and their typical diet of raccoon, skunks, opossum, rabbits, mice, ducks, and geese now includes small dogs and cats....

Money lending a 'Chinese puzzle'

Edit Otago Daily Times 28 Mar 2016

And, in addition to this, he goes borrowing more money to pay a money-lender ...  ■ At Sealey Creek, near the old Moonlight Diggings, on the West Coast, there is at present a plague of opossums ... The colder climate of the dominion has improved the value of its fur, and the New Zealand opossum skin is said to be much more valuable in the market than the Australian ... One farmer was very emphatic on this point ... - ODT, 29.3.1916 . ....

What's new - and old -in Richmond, Virginia's trendy capital

Edit Philadelphia Daily News 27 Mar 2016

RICHMOND, Va ... And lately there's another group joining the mix. curious visitors drawn to the city's emerging status as a trendy Southern capital. What's new - and old -in Richmond, Virginia's trendy capital ... Want something truly decadent? It doesn't get more wackily regal than L'opossum's Fabergé Egg Bedazzled With Caviar (accompanied by "vodka-laced accoutrements et les jiggles de la champagne rose") ... to midnight ... Case in point ... ....

Birds use alligators as bodyguards

Edit The Oklahoman 25 Mar 2016

For many species of birds, the greatest threat their chicks face are nest-attacking predators, such as raccoons and opossums....

When Jo-Jo was a colonial hipster and real-estate peacocking began

Edit Sydney Morning Herald 25 Mar 2016

Adelaide's town hall was packed in 1889. Hordes had come to see Fedor Jeftichew, alias Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy. Born in Siberia, the freak had a kelpie-like pelt across his face, plus muttonchops and beard the future lumbersexual would only envy ... Get the pun? Put it this way ... Scrub that ... And handy business too. a backlit moon is ideal for shooting opossum, while a regular shave should curb any urges of running away with the circus ... ....

4th teen sentenced in Nebraska animal torture case

Edit The Roanoke Times 23 Mar 2016

STANTON, Neb. (AP) — The last of four northeast Nebraska teenagers accused of torturing a cat and an opossum has been sentenced ... ....

Mar 22, 2016 Raccoons and Opossums Released at New Melones Lake (Bureau of Reclamation)

Edit Public Technologies 22 Mar 2016

Raccoons and Opossums Released at New Melones Lake ... The opossums were freed on the right side of the road near a creek, while the raccoons were released on the opposite side of the road further down the creek ... One of the opossums immediately disappeared, but the other stayed inside a box left for them to hide and sleep in ... The Center specializes in caring for small mammals such as fawns, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, foxes and squirrels....

12 of the best tweets of all time

Edit Mashable 21 Mar 2016

Twitter is growing up. Difficult as it is to believe, the social network just turned 10. While the company is celebrating with a look back at some of its most powerful moments, we wanted to mark the occasion with a list of our own. See also. Twitter at 10. It's not about you ... just setting up my twttr. — Jack (@jack) March 21, 2006 The first hashtag ... just got home, let out the dogs, within minutes they cornered,attacked and killed an opossum....

'Snitch' pythons lead researchers to other pests

Edit CNN 20 Mar 2016

(CNN)South Florida has a huge python problem ... Researchers who have been tracking Burmese pythons captured more than one ton over the last three months in southwest Florida ... Read More ... The effect has been profound; the invasive species is responsible for causing the near "complete disappearance of raccoons, rabbits and opossums," according to the USGS, and goes almost completely unchecked in its environment ... ....

'Opossum' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:

Circle Track Summer (2005)