RE: Possums was Anhingas (A Challenge)

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Don Ohmes wrote:

> They are prolific, omnivorous and adapt well to urban
> environments. That explains how they survive in their
> present form, but does it explain why they don't
> "improve", particularly relative to locomotion? They
> don't climb well, run well, or even walk well relative
> to other mammals.

The same applies to rats, AFAIK.  Last I heard, the brown rat _Rattus 
norwegicus_ is doing quite well (alas).

> If possums are a
> young species, that negates the basic premise ("little
> or no change since 'way back when") of the question
> right there.

Well, I'm not sure how young/old the didelphid lineage actually is.  It may 
take some book-learnin' to figure out when opossums first appear in the 
fossil record.

BTW, the origin of modern didelphids is a separate question to the origin of 
the body plan of modern didelphids.  The latter may go back a lot further 
than the first identifiable crown-group didelphid (which may be as good a 
definition as any for what qualifies as an 'opposum').  It is possible that 
didelphids retained the body plan (and ecomorphology) that is primitive for 
the Didelphoidea, Didelphimorphia, or some even more inclusive group.  I 
can't comment any further, because marsupial evolution isn't really my 
forte.

> [Way greasy and too much trouble in my view. You got
> to cage them, feed them corn for two weeks (see "Fear
> Factor" diet, above), then kill them, burn off the
> hair, scald and scrape them like a hog... bake them
> whole w/ sweet potatoes, and then they are only just
> OK, IMO. I hear the hardcore folks don't remove the
> entrails cause they are "stuffed with pure corn".

Stop - you're making me hungry!


;-)


Tim