Belongs within: Didelphinae.
Monodelphis is a genus of terrestrial to semi-fossorial opossums found in eastern South America south to central Argentina.
Characters (from Pine & Handley 2008): Ears relatively small; eyes medium-sized to small. Palate without second posterior pair of vacuities. Nasals widened posteriorly. First premolars not greatly reduced; P3 and usually P3 larger or much larger than P2 and P2 respectively. Pelage dense, ranging from short and crisp to longer and densely woolly; no prominent guard hairs. Pouch completely absent. Tail considerably shorter than head plus body, prehensile, not bushy. Limbs and feet short and stout; ankle-bones unspecialised; foot pads poorly developed; toes relatively short; claws enlarged; fifth hind toe considerably shorter than second, third and fourth toes little longer than second; pollex reduced, not opposable.
<==Monodelphis Burnett 1830 (see below for synonymy)C57 |--M. kunsiFS15 `--M. (Monodelphis)C57 | i. s.: M. (M.) henseli (Thomas 1888) [=Didelphys (Peramys) henseli]C57 | M. (M.) touan (Shaw 1800) [=Viverra touan, Mustela touan]C57 | |--M. t. touan (see below for synonymy)C57 | `--M. t. paulensis Vieira 1950 [=M. tricolor paulensis]C57 |--+--M. (M.) emiliae (Thomas 1912)C57, FS15, C57 [=Peramys emiliaeC57, M. touan emiliaeC57, P. tricolor emiliaeC57] | `--M. (M.) maraxina Thomas 1923C57, FS15, C57 [=M. domestica maraxinaC57] `--+--+--M. (M.) scalops (Thomas 1888)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphis (Peramys) scalopsC57] | `--M. (M.) theresa Thomas 1921C57, FS15, C57 [=M. americana theresaC57, M. therezaeC57, Peramys therezaeC57] `--+--+--+--M. (M.) osgoodi Doutt 1938C57, FS15, C57 [=M. adusta osgoodiC57] | | `--M. umbristriata (Miranda Ribeiro 1936)FS15, C57 [=Minuania umbristriataC57] | `--+--M. reigiFS15 | `--+--M. (M.) adusta (Thomas 1897)C57, FS15, C57 [=Peramys adustusC57] | | |--M. a. adustaC57 | | `--M. a. peruviana (Osgood 1913) [=Peramys peruvianus, M. peruvianus]C57 | `--+--M. (M.) rubida (Thomas 1899)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) | `--+--M. ronaldiFS15 | `--M. (M.) unistriata (Wagner 1842)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) `--+--+--M. (M.) sorex (Hensel 1872)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) | `--M. (Minuania Cabrera 1919)C57 | |--M. (M.) dimidiata (Wagner 1847)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) | `--M. (M.) fosteri Thomas 1924C57 `--+--M. (M.) americana (Müller 1776)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) `--+--M. (M.) iheringi (Thomas 1888)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) `--+--M. (M.) brevicaudata (Erxleben 1777)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) | |--M. b. brevicaudata (see below for synonymy)C57 | `--M. b. orinoci (Thomas 1899) (see below for synonymy)C57 `--+--M. (M.) domestica (Wagner 1842)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy) `--+--M. (M.) glirina (Wagner 1842)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphis glirinaC57] `--M. (M.) palliolata (Osgood 1914)C57, FS15, C57 (see below for synonymy)
Monodelphis Burnett 1830 [incl. Hemiurus Gervais 1856 non Rudolphi 1809, Microdelphis Burmeister 1856, Monodelphiops Matschie 1916, Peramys Lesson 1842, Sarigua Muirhead 1830]C57
Monodelphis (Minuania) dimidiata (Wagner 1847)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphis dimidiataC57; incl. Minuania goyana Miranda Ribeiro 1936C57, Mi. dimidiata itatiayae Miranda Ribeiro 1936C57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) americana (Müller 1776)C57, FS15, C57 [=Sorex americanusC57, Didelphis americanaC57, Peramys americanaC57, P. americanusC57; incl. Sorex braziliensis Erxleben 1777C57, Didelphys trilineata Lund 1841 (n. n.)C57, Didelphys tristriata Illiger 1815C57, Peramys tristriataC57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) brevicaudata (Erxleben 1777)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphis brevicaudatusC57, Mo. brevicaudaC57, Pramys brevicaudatusC57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) brevicaudata brevicaudata (Erxleben 1777) [incl. Didelphis brachyuros Schreber 1777, Didelphis brachyura, Hemiurus brachyurus, Microdelphis brachyura, *Monodelphis brachyura, Paramys brachyurus, Philander brachyurus, Sarigua brachyura, Didelphis brevicaudis Illiger 1815, Didelphys hunteri Waterhouse 1841, Didelphis sebae Gray 1827]C57
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) brevicaudata orinoci (Thomas 1899) [=Paramys brevicaudatus orinoci; incl. P. brevicaudatus dorsalis Allen 1904]C57
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) domestica (Wagner 1842)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphys domesticaC57, Peramys domesticaC57, P. domesticusC57; incl. Hemiurus concolor Gervais 1856C57, H. hunteri Gervais 1856 non Didelphys hunteri Waterhouse 1841C57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) iheringi (Thomas 1888)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphis (Peramys) iheringiC57, M. americana iheringiC57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) palliolata (Osgood 1914)C57, FS15, C57 [=Peramys palliolatusC57, M. brevicaudata palliolataC57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) rubida (Thomas 1899)C57, FS15, C57 [=Peramys rubidusC57, M. touan rubidusC57, P. tricolor rubidusC57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) sorex (Hensel 1872)C57, FS15, C57 [=Microdelphis sorexC57, Didelphis sorexC57, Monodelphiops sorexC57, Peramys sorexC57]
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) touan touan (Shaw 1800) [incl. Didelphis macroura Pallas in Schinz 1844 non Illiger 1815, D. tricolor Geoffroy 1803, Microdelphis tricolor, Monodelphis tricolor, Peramys tricolor]C57
Monodelphis (Monodelphis) unistriata (Wagner 1842)C57, FS15, C57 [=Didelphys unistriataC57, Microdelphis unistriataC57, Peramys unistriatusC57]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[C57] Cabrera, A. 1957. Catalogo de los mamiferos de America del Sur. I (Metatheria—Unguiculata—Carnivora). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de Las Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Zoológicas 4 (1): 1–307.
[FS15] Faurby, S., & J.-C. Svenning. 2015. A species-level phylogeny of all extant and late Quaternary extinct mammals using a novel heuristic-hierarchical Bayesian approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 14–26.
Pine, R. H., & C. O. Handley Jr. 2008. Genus Monodelphis Burnett, 1830. In: Gardner, A. L. (ed.) Mammals of South America vol. 1. Marsupials, xenarthrans, shrews, and bats pp. 82–107. University of Chicago Press.