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Caenolestoidea

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | 520 words | Copyright

Caenolestoidea (opossum rats; infraclass Metatheria, order Marsupialia) A superfamily (or order, Paucituberculata) comprising a single family (Caenolestidae) of shrew-like marsupials, known since the Eocene. Opossum rats possess four upper and three or four lower incisors, the first lower pair being large. The hind feet are didactylous and the first hind digit has a claw. There is no marsupium. Opossum rats live in the Andes forests. There are seven species in three genera: Caenolestes; Lestoros; and Rhyncholestes.

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