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48-638: William Derham recorded in Upminster, Great Britain , near London, a low of −12  °C (10  °F ) on the night of 5 January 1709, the lowest he had ever measured since he started taking readings in 1697. His contemporaries in the weather observation field in Europe likewise recorded lows down to −15 °C (5 °F). Derham wrote in Philosophical Transactions : "I believe the Frost

96-568: A 28.1 cm (11.1 in) tail. Weight for males ranges from 2.1–2.8 kg (4.6–6.2 lb) and for females from 1.9–2.1 kg (4.2–4.6 lb). Their coats are a dull grayish brown, other than on their faces, which are white. Opossums have long, hairless, prehensile tails, which can be used to grab branches and carry small objects. They also have hairless ears and a long, flat nose. Opossums have 50 teeth , more than any other North American land mammal, and opposable, clawless thumbs on their rear limbs. Opossums have 13 nipples , arranged in

144-404: A Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat. Under her belly she hath a bagge, wherein she lodgeth, carrieth, and sucketh her young." The opossum was more formally described in 1698 in a published letter entitled " Carigueya, Seu Marsupiale Americanum Masculum . Or, The Anatomy of a Male Opossum: In a Letter to Dr Edward Tyson", from Mr William Cowper , Chirurgeon, and Fellow of

192-599: A circle of 12 with one in the middle. The dental formula of an opossum is 5.1.3.4 4.1.3.4 . No other mammal in North America has more than 6 upper incisors , but the Virginia opossum has 10. Perhaps surprisingly for such a widespread and successful species, the Virginia opossum has one of the lowest encephalization quotients of any marsupial. Its brain is one-fifth the size of a raccoon's. Virginia opossum tracks generally show five finger-like toes in both

240-764: A colder winter with heavier snow occurs in a particular northern region. The Virginia opossum was not originally native to the West Coast of the United States. It was intentionally introduced into the West during the Great Depression , probably as a source of food, and now occupies much of the Pacific coast. Its range has been expanding steadily northward into British Columbia . Virginia opossums can vary considerably in size, with larger specimens found to

288-464: A common predator of poultry farming in North America. Research suggests that proximity to humans causes an increase in body size for opossums living in or near urban environments. Though sometimes mistakenly considered to be rats, opossums are not closely related to rodents or any other placental mammals. The opossum was once a favorite game animal in the United States , particularly in

336-493: A maximal lifespan in the wild of only about two years. Even in captivity, opossums live only about four years. The rapid senescence of opossums is thought to reflect the fact that they have few defenses against predators; given that they would have little prospect of living very long regardless, they are not under selective pressure to develop biochemical mechanisms to enable a long lifespan. In support of this hypothesis, one population on Sapelo Island , 5 miles (8 km) off

384-514: A stand. To appear threatening, an opossum will first bare its 50 teeth, snap its jaw, hiss, drool, and stand its fur on end to look bigger. If this does not work, the Virginia opossum is noted for feigning death in response to extreme fear. This is the genesis of the term " playing possum ", which means pretending to be dead or injured with intent to deceive. In this inactive state it lies limp and motionless on its side, mouth and eyes open, tongue hanging out, and feet clenched. Fear can also cause

432-645: A variety of papers to the Transactions of the Royal Society . He revised the Miscellanea Curiosa . He edited the correspondence and wrote a biography of John Ray , whose 'physico-theology' ( natural theology ) tradition he continued, making him an early parson-naturalist . He edited Eleazar Albin 's Natural History , and published some of the manuscripts of the scientist Robert Hooke . His meteorological observations at Upminster (in

480-434: A wide range of plant-based food, as well as animal-based food like small invertebrates, carrion , eggs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and other small animals. Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles make up the bulk of the animal foods eaten by opossums. It has been stated that opossums eat up to 95% of the ticks they encounter and may eat up to 5,000 ticks per season, helping to prevent

528-469: A winter such as this one." William Derham William Derham FRS (26 November 1657 – 5 April 1735) was an English clergyman, natural theologian , natural philosopher and scientist . He produced the earliest reasonably accurate measurement of the speed of sound . William Derham was the son of Thomas Derham. He was born at Stoulton , in Worcestershire , England. He

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576-401: Is 28 days and lasts 36 hours. Gestation lasts 11–13 days and the average litter size is 8–9 infants, although over 20 infants may be born. Opossums have a very high mortality rate of their young; only one in ten offspring survive to reproductive adulthood. Newborns are the size of a honeybee . Once delivered through the median vagina or central birth canal, newborn opossums climb up into

624-466: Is equal to 1 in ). To determine the stride of a pacing gait, measure from the tip (just beyond the fingers or toes in the direction of travel, disregarding claw marks) of one set of fore/hind tracks to the tip of the next set. By taking careful stride and track-size measurements, one can usually determine what species of animal created a set of tracks, even when individual track details are vague or obscured. If threatened, an opossum will either flee or take

672-705: Is probably uncommon in the wild. Because of this, placing an injured opossum in a confined space with its healthy counterparts is inadvisable. The Virginia opossum is most active during the spring and summer. It does not hibernate but reduces its activity during the winter. It may not leave its den for several days if the temperature drops below −7 to −4 °C (19 to 25 °F). Both males and females are at greater risk of injury during breeding season. Males extend their range in search of mates which puts them at greater risk of injury from motor vehicles and predators as they venture into unfamiliar territory. Females carrying young are slower moving and have to forage earlier in

720-488: Is the original animal named " opossum ", a word which comes from Algonquian wapathemwa , meaning "white animal". Colloquially, the Virginia opossum is frequently just called a "possum". The term is applied more generally to any of the other marsupials of the families Didelphidae and Caenolestidae . The generic name ( Didelphis ) is derived from Ancient Greek: di , "two", and delphus , "womb". The possums of Australia , whose name derives from their similarity to

768-598: The Transactions of the Royal Society ) are amongst the earliest series in England. In 1709 Derham published a more accurate measure of the speed of sound, at 1,072 Parisian feet per second. Derham used a telescope from the tower of the church of St Laurence, Upminster , to observe the flash of a distant shotgun being fired, and then measured the time until he heard the gunshot with a half second pendulum. Measurements were made of gunshots from local landmarks including

816-545: The Church of St Mary Magdalene, North Ockendon . The distance was known by triangulation , and thus the speed that the sound had travelled could be calculated. Virginia opossum Didelphis marsupialis virginiana The Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana ), also known as the North American opossum , is a member of the opossum family found from southern Canada to northern Costa Rica (making it

864-519: The 1960s, but now have them regularly; some speculate that this is likely due to global warming causing winters to be warmer. Some people speculate the expansion into Ontario mostly occurred by opossums accidentally being transferred across the St. Lawrence , Niagara , Detroit and St. Clair rivers by motor vehicles or trains they may have climbed upon. As the opossum is not adapted to colder winters or heavy snow, its population may be significantly reduced if

912-804: The American species, are also marsupials, but of the order Diprotodontia . The Virginia opossum is known in Mexico as tlacuache , tacuachi , and tlacuachi , from the Nahuatl word tlacuatzin . The Virginia opossum's ancestors evolved in South America , but spread into North America as part of the Great American Interchange , which occurred mainly after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama about 3 million years ago. Didelphis

960-702: The Royal Society , London, by Edward Tyson, M.D. Fellow of the College of Physicians and of the Royal Society. The letter suggests even earlier descriptions. Opossums are not considered dangerous to humans. Though their open-mouth hiss when frightened is often mistaken as rabid behavior, opossums are naturally resistant to rabies due to their low body temperature. Opossums can however host parasites and carry diseases such as tuberculosis , leptospirosis , and tularemia , among others. Like raccoons, opossums can be found in urban environments, where they eat pet food, rotten fruit, and human garbage. They also are considered

1008-480: The Virginia opossum is featured in several episodes of the hit TV show The Beverly Hillbillies , such as the "Possum Day" episode in 1965. The title character in Walt Kelly 's long-running comic strip Pogo was an opossum. In an attempt to create another icon like the teddy bear , President William Howard Taft was tied to the character Billy Possum. The character did not do well, as public perception of

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1056-523: The being and attributes of God , and were used by William Paley nearly a century later. However, these books also include quantities of original scientific observations. For example, Physico-Theology contains his recognition of natural variation within species and that he knew that Didelphis virginialis (the Virginia opossum ) was the only marsupial in North America . It also includes one of

1104-605: The coast of Georgia , which has been isolated for thousands of years without natural predators, was found by Dr. Steven Austad to have evolved lifespans up to 50% longer than those of mainland populations. An early description of the opossum comes from explorer John Smith , who wrote in Map of Virginia, with a Description of the Countrey, the Commodities, People, Government and Religion in 1608 that "An Opassom hath an head like

1152-522: The earliest theoretical descriptions of a marine chronometer , accompanied by a discussion of the use of vacuum seals to reduce inaccuracies in the operation of timepieces. He is the first person known to have used the word chronometer . Similarly, Astro-Theology includes several newly identified nebulae (this was the name used at the time for all extended astronomical objects: some of his nebulae are what we would now call star clusters ). His 16-foot-long (4.9 m) telescope (also used when measuring

1200-449: The evening and later into the night, also increasing their risk of injury from motor vehicles and predation. The breeding season for the Virginia opossum can begin as early as December and continue through October with most young born between February and June. A female opossum may have one to three litters per year. During the mating season, the male attracts the female by making clicking sounds with his mouth. The female's estrus cycle

1248-417: The female opossum's pouch and latch onto one of her 13 teats. The young remain latched for two months and in the pouch for 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months. The young then climb onto the mother's back, where she carries them for the remainder of their time together. It is during this time that the young learn survival skills. They leave their mother after about four or five months. Like all female marsupials ,

1296-555: The female's reproductive system is bifid, with two lateral vaginae, uteri, and ovaries. The male's penis is also bifid, with two heads, and as is common in New World marsupials, the sperm pair up in the testes and only separate as they come close to the egg. Males have three pairs of Cowper's glands . Compared to other mammals, including most other marsupials except dasyuromorphians , opossums have unusually short lifespans for their size and metabolic rate. The Virginia opossum has

1344-452: The fore and hind prints. The hind tracks are unusual and distinctive due to the opossum's opposable thumb , which generally prints at an angle of 90° or greater to the other fingers (sometimes near 180°). Individual adult tracks generally measure 1.9 in long by 2.0 in wide (4.8 × 5.1 cm) for the fore prints and 2.5 in long by 2.3 in wide (6.4 × 5.7 cm) for the hind prints. Opossums have claws on all fingers fore and hind except on

1392-456: The harmful weather and cautiously stayed within their camps, their losses were substantially lower, contributing heavily to their eventual victory at Poltava the following summer. France was particularly hard hit by the winter, with the subsequent famine estimated to have caused 600,000 deaths by the end of 1710. Because the famine occurred during wartime , there were contemporary nationalist claims that there were no deaths from starvation in

1440-555: The kingdom of France in 1709. This winter event has drawn the attention of modern-day climatologists in the European Union 's Millennium Project because they are presently unable to correlate the known causes of cold weather in Europe today with weather patterns documented in 1709. According to Dennis Wheeler, a climatologist at the University of Sunderland : "Something unusual seems to have been happening". The severity of

1488-425: The north of the opossum's range and smaller specimens in the tropics. They measure 33–55 cm (13–22 in) long from their snout to the base of the tail, with the tail adding another 25–54 cm (9.8–21.3 in). Males are slightly larger, with an average body length of 40.8 cm (16.1 in) with an average tail length of 29.4 cm (11.6 in), while females are 40.6 cm (16.0 in) long with

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1536-509: The northernmost marsupial in the world). Commonly referred to simply as the possum , it is a solitary nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat , and a successful opportunist . Opossums are familiar to many North Americans as they frequently inhabit settled areas near food sources like trash cans, pet food, compost piles, gardens or housemice. Their slow, nocturnal nature and their attraction to roadside carrion make opossums more likely to become roadkill . The Virginia opossum

1584-719: The opossum led to its downfall. In December 2010, a cross-eyed Virginia opossum in Germany's Leipzig Zoo named Heidi became an international celebrity. She appeared on a TV talk show to predict the 2011 Oscar winners, similar to the World Cup predictions made previously by Paul the Octopus , also in Germany. The Perelman Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , an annex of the Philadelphia Museum of Art ,

1632-541: The opossum to move northward. Elimination of the opossum's main predators in these areas also contributed to their expansion. Since 1900, it has expanded its range to include most of New England (including Maine ); New York , extreme southwestern Quebec ; most of southern and eastern Ontario ; most of Michigan and Wisconsin ; most of Minnesota , southeastern South Dakota and most of Nebraska . Areas such as Rhode Island and Waterloo Region and Simcoe County in southern Ontario rarely had sightings of opossums in

1680-589: The opossum to release a green fluid from its anus with a putrid odor that repels predators. Heart rate drops by half, and breathing rate is so slow and shallow it is hardly detectable. Death feigning normally stops when the threat withdraws, and it can last for several hours. Besides discouraging animals that eat live prey, playing possum also convinces some large animals that the opossum is no threat to their young. "Playing possum" in response to threats from oncoming traffic often results in death. Opossums are omnivorous (sometimes said to be insectivorous ) and eat

1728-402: The opossum was not walking (perhaps running), the prints would fall in a different pattern. Other animals that generally employ a pacing gait are raccoons , bears , skunks , badgers , woodchucks , porcupines , and beavers . When pacing, the opossum's 'stride' generally measures from 7 to 10 in, or 18 to 25 cm (in the pacing diagram the stride is 8.5 in, where one grid square

1776-459: The photograph were made while the opossum was walking with its typical pacing gait . The four aligned toes on the hind print show the approximate direction of travel. In a pacing gait, the limbs on one side of the body are moved simultaneously, just prior to moving both limbs on the other side of the body. This is illustrated in the pacing diagram, which explains why the left-fore and right-hind tracks are generally found together (and vice versa). If

1824-404: The precise site of his grave is unknown and, in accordance with his wishes, there is no memorial to him in the church. In 1696, he published his Artificial Clockmaker , which went through several editions. The best known of his subsequent works are Physico-Theology , published in 1713; Astro-Theology , 1714; and Christo-Theology , 1730. All three of these books are teleological arguments for

1872-566: The side of the highway, opossums are at an increased risk of being hit by motor vehicles. Plant foods are mainly eaten in late summer, autumn, and early winter. These include raspberries, blackberries, apples, acorns, beechnuts, seeds, grains, bulbs, and vegetables. Persimmons are one of the opossum's favorite foods during the autumn. Opossums in urban areas scavenge from bird feeders, vegetable gardens, compost piles, garbage cans, and food dishes intended for dogs and cats. Opossums in captivity are known to engage in cannibalism , though this

1920-435: The southern regions which have a large body of recipes and folklore relating to it. Their past wide consumption in regions where present is evidenced by recipes available online and in books such as older editions of The Joy of Cooking . A traditional method of preparation is baking, sometimes in a pie or pastry, though at present "possum pie" most often refers to a sweet confection containing no meat of any kind. Around

1968-729: The spread of tick-born illnesses, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever . This interpretation has been challenged. A widely publicized 2009 study by the Cary Institute indicated that Virginia opossums in a laboratory setting could eat thousands of ticks per week grooming . However, subsequent studies of the stomach contents of wild Virginia opossums have not found any ticks in their diet. Small animals include young rabbits, meadow voles, mice, rats, birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, fish, crayfish, gastropods, and earthworms. The Virginia opossum has been found to be very resistant to snake venom. Attracted to carrion on

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2016-513: The turn of the 20th century, the opossum was the subject of numerous songs, including "Carve dat Possum", a minstrel song written in 1875 by Sam Lucas. Although it is widely distributed in the United States, the Virginia opossum's appearance in folklore and popularity as a food item has tied it closely to the American Southeast . In animation, it is often used to depict uncivilized characters or " hillbillies ". Not surprisingly, then,

2064-420: The two thumbs (in the photograph, claw marks show as small holes just beyond the tip of each finger); these generally show in the tracks. In a soft medium, such as the mud in this photograph, the foot pads clearly show (these are the deep, darker areas where the fingers and toes meet the rest of the hand or foot, which have been filled with plant debris by wind due to the advanced age of the tracks). The tracks in

2112-537: The velocity of sound) was at the top of the tower of St Laurence's Church, where the necessary doors are still in place. On 3 February 1703, Derham was elected Fellow of the Royal Society . He was Boyle lecturer in 1711–1712. His last known work, entitled A Defence of the Church's Right in Leasehold Estates , appeared as early as 1731. But besides the works published in his own name, Derham contributed

2160-567: The winter is thought to be an important factor in the emigration of the German Palatines from central Europe. Elizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine , the Duchess of Orléans , had written a letter to her great aunt in Germany describing how she was still shivering from cold and could barely hold her pen despite having a roaring fire next to her, the door shut, and her entire person wrapped in furs. She wrote, "Never in my life have I seen

2208-522: Was apparently one of the later migrants, entering North America about 0.8 million years ago. It is now found throughout Central America and North America from Costa Rica to southern Ontario and is expanding its range northward, northwesterly and northeasterly at a significant pace. Its pre-European settlement range was generally as far north as Maryland ; southern Ohio , Indiana and Illinois ; Missouri and Kansas . The clearing of dense forests in these areas and further north by settlers allowed

2256-489: Was educated at Blockley , Gloucestershire , and at Trinity College, Oxford , from 1675 to 1679. He was ordained on 29 May 1681. In 1682, he became vicar of Wargrave , Berkshire , and from 1689 to 1735 he was Rector at Upminster , Essex . While at Upminster, in 1716 he became a Canon of Windsor and the vestry minutes show that thereafter he divided his time between those two places. The parish registers of Upminster record his burial at St. Laurence's in 1735. However,

2304-700: Was greater (if not more universal also) than any other within the Memory of Man." During the Great Northern War , the Swedish invasion of Russia was notably weakened by the severe winter. Sudden winter storms and frosts killed thousands during the Swedish army's winter offensives, most notably during a single night away from camp that killed at least 2,000. Because the Russian troops were more prepared for

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