Dusky Shrew Opossum
Encyclopedia
The Dusky Caenolestid also known as the Dusky Shrew Opossum, the Silky Shrew Opossum, or the Ecuadorean Shrew-Opossum, is a small marsupial
that lives in the alpine forests and meadows of the Andes
. Its range stretches across Colombia
, Ecuador
, and northwestern Venezuela
. It is the best known of the six surviving species of the order Paucituberculata (shrew opossums).
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
that lives in the alpine forests and meadows of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. Its range stretches across Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, and northwestern Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It is the best known of the six surviving species of the order Paucituberculata (shrew opossums).