BackAudubon - Virginian Opossum
John James Audubon (1785-1851)
John Woodhouse Audubon (1812-1862)
Virginian Opossum
Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America
New York: J. J. Audubon, 1845-8
Hand-coloured lithograph
The Virginian opossum is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. Marsupials are
distinguished by their unique mode of reproduction in which the young are born in an almost
embryonic form and carried in the mother’s abdominal pouch where they are nourished.
“Shown here with a persimmon tree, of whose fruit it is fond.”