Eodelphis meaning "early opossum" (Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

: eos = dawn + delphis = opossum) is a genus of stagodont marsupial

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...

s from the Late Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 of North America, with distinctive crushing dentition. Named species include E. browni and the more advanced E. cutleri. Both come from the Late Campanian

Campanian

The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...

 (Judithian

Judithian

The Judithian was a North American faunal stage lasting from 83.5 to 70.6 million years ago. It overlaps with the Campanian global stage.-Fauna:Dinosaur faunas of the Judithian age may represent the peak of dinosaur evolution in North America...

 "Land Mammal Age") of Dinosaur Provincial Park

Dinosaur Provincial Park

Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located about two and a half hours drive southeast of Calgary, Alberta, Canada or , about a half hour drive, northeast of Brooks....

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. Specimens are also known from the Judith River Formation

Judith River Formation

The Judith River Formation is a fossil-bearing geologic formation in Montana, and is part of the Judith River Group. It dates to the upper Cretaceous, between 80 and 75 million years ago, corresponding to the "Judithian" land vertebrate age...

 of Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

. E. cutleri is related to the Maastrichtian

Maastrichtian

The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...

 genus Didelphodon

Didelphodon

Didelphodon is a genus of stagodont marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Three species are known: Didelphodon vorax, D. padanicus, and D. coyi. Although perhaps little larger than a Virginia Opossum, it was one of the largest mammals of the Mesozoic...

as indicated by its enlarged premolar

Premolar

The premolar teeth or bicuspids are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant, making eight premolars total in the mouth. They have at least two cusps. Premolars can be considered as a 'transitional tooth' during chewing, or...

s and more robust jaw. Eodelphis was probably a predator, and may have weighed about 0.6 kg (1.3 lb), making it one of the largest mammals of its time.