Abstract The fossil record of the genus Didelphis, despite its current diversity (6 species, 5 occurring in South America) and wide distribution (from southern Canada to Patagonia, Argentina), is very scarce. The oldest record of the genus in South America comes from Late Miocene sediments and the youngest records from the Late Holocene and historical times. In Uruguay, the only record is stratigraphically questionable because the material has been lost. The present contribution describes the first materials with a precise stratigraphic context assigned to Didelphis cf. D. albiventris, based on comparative morphological and numerical analysis. The materials were unearthed from several outcrops of the Sopas Formation (Late Pleistocene, northern Uruguay) and consist of an associated skull and mandible, right hemimandible, and postcranial material. These findings allow us to discuss several aspects related to the biology and ecology of Didelphis. These animals, which exhibit a mixed diet, were able to feed at intermediate levels of the food chain in highly diverse environments during the Late Pleistocene.

中文翻译：

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乌拉圭晚更新世的大型美洲负鼠Didelphis（Didelphiomorpha，Didelphidae）及古生态学评论

摘要 Didelphis 属的化石记录尽管目前具有多样性（6 种，5 种发生在南美洲）和广泛分布（从加拿大南部到阿根廷巴塔哥尼亚），但非常稀少。该属在南美洲最古老的记录来自晚中新世沉积物，最年轻的记录来自晚全新世和历史时期。在乌拉圭，唯一的记录在地层学上有问题，因为材料已经丢失。目前的贡献描述了第一个具有精确地层背景的材料，这些材料分配给了 Didelphis cf. D. albiventris，基于比较形态学和数值分析。这些材料是从 Sopas 组（晚更新世，乌拉圭北部）的几个露头出土的，由相关的头骨和下颌骨、右半下颌骨和颅后材料组成。这些发现使我们能够讨论与 Didelphis 的生物学和生态学相关的几个方面。这些动物表现出混合饮食，在晚更新世期间能够在高度多样化的环境中以食物链的中间水平进食。