It's an opossum - Didelphis virginiana. I realize that I could have given you a better scale to work with. The skull is about 5-6 inches in length, and it's sitting on the hitch of the boom-pole for the tractor.
Here are some fun facts about 'possums as told to me by Farmer John as he read out of his "Mammals of Minnesota" field guide:
- Gestation is 12-13 DAYS, at which point they crawl unassisted into the pouch.
- The brain cavity of a possum can hold 26 navy beans. (While a similar sized raccoon's brain cavity can hold 139 navy beans.)
- They are popular table-fare in southeast Minnesota. Which, I swear, came straight from the book!
And so concludes your nerdy-naturalist lesson for the day.
Yay! From our The Wild Mammals of Missouri,"baked opossum is a traditional dish in some localities."
ReplyDeleteWe hope to take you up on that prize sometime this winter.
Duh. Seems so obvious. Still, a fun contest and I learned interesting facts with the answer.
ReplyDeleteOn WGN Thursday or Friday there was quite a bit of discussion about the Virginia 'possum! How prolific they are. How well they do in urban areas. What a short gestation period they have. How they carry disease. John Williams was hiiarious about the critters. There is so much synchronicity in the world!
ReplyDeleteHow old is that field guide? I lived in SE Minnesota for 8 years and never heard of anyone eating them. My husband grew up there and never heard of it either. I did hit one with my car there once though.
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