Abstract

LESSA, Leonardo G  and  GEISE, Lena. Food habits and carnivory by a small size opossum, Gracilinanus agilis (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae). Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2014, vol.21, n.1, pp.139-143. ISSN 0327-9383.

We investigated the diet of gracile mouse opossum, Gracilinanus agilis (Burmeister, 1854), from the analysis of 144 fecal samples collected between November 2009 and October 2011 in an area of savanna riparian forest in the Brazilian Cerrado. Invertebrates were the most frequently consumed food items (96.5%) followed by fruits of pioneer species (29.8%) and flowers (6%). We also observed the presence of fragments of bird vertebrae and downs in samples from 2 adult males, this being the first record of predation on small vertebrates by G. agilis. The presence of fragments of birds in the feces of the gracile mouse opossum suggests that despite the small size of this species and its primarily insectivorous habits, small vertebrates may be included in its diet.

Keywords : Cerrado; Didelphimorphia; Diet; Feeding ecology; Marsupials.

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