Nocturnal activity and behaviour of the elusive bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia Venusta)

Abstract

The bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia venusta) is a small arboreal marsupial found in the Amazon basin. G. venusta is rarely seen and has few published sightings throughout its range. Videos (N = 79) were obtained from arboreal camera traps located in the Las Piedras Amazon Center near the Las Piedras River (SE Peru) from April 2017 until November 2017. Our new records, the first for the Las Piedras River, demonstrate that the species is nocturnal with activity peaks at 3:00 h and 20:00 h in the hours of complete darkness. The abundance of camera trap footage of such a rarely observed species further demonstrates the effectiveness of arboreal camera trapping to conduct species assessments.