---
title: "Virginia Opossum"
description: "Didelphis virginiana — Mammiferi. The Virginia opossum, also known as the North American opossum, is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica, making it the northernmost marsupial in the world."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/virginia-opossum
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Virginia Opossum

> Didelphis virginiana — Mammiferi. The Virginia opossum, also known as the North American opossum, is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica, making it the northernmost marsupial in the world.

- Scientific name: *Didelphis virginiana*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammiferi)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta), `urban` (Città e giardini)
- iNaturalist observations: 75940
- Wikidata: [Q147267](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q147267)
- iNaturalist taxon: [42652](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42652)

## Names

- en: Virginia Opossum
- de: Nordopossum
- es: Tlacuache norteño
- fr: Opossum de Virginie
- nl: Virginiaanse opossum
- pl: Dydelf wirginijski

## Countries with the most observations

US (61902), MX (6079), CA (3085), HN (52), GT (34), BZ (20), SV (17), CR (16), NI (6)

## Summary

The Virginia opossum, also known as the North American opossum, is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica, making it the northernmost marsupial in the world. Commonly referred to simply as the possum, it is a solitary nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, and a successful opportunist.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_opossum

## Photo

![Virginia Opossum](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/virginia-opossum/medium.jpg)

Photo: peakaytea · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103444776

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/virginia-opossum?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).