Albinism in Brazilian common opossums (Didelphis aurita)

Abstract

Albinism has been sporadically recorded in Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in the United States and Mexico, but records of pigmentation disorders in other Didelphis spp. are rare. The Brazilian common opossum (Didelphis aurita) is a cat-sized nocturnal omnivorous marsupial that inhabits Atlantic and Araucaria forests in South America. A litter of five young Brazilian common opossums was rescued at Espírito Santo state, southeast Brazil, of which two were albinos (one male, one female) and the remaining had normal pigmentation (three males). The two albinos had a complete lack of integumentary and retinal pigmentation, representing the first recorded cases of albinism in this species (and the first record in a Didelphis sp. other than the Virginia opossum).