First record of the genus Metachirus in Guatemala

Abstract

The genus Metachirus has a wide distribution throughout the Americas, but there are significant gaps in its distribution in northern Mesoamerica, having only been documented in a few localities in Honduras and México.  During biological expeditions in northern and northeast Guatemala, we gathered evidence about the presence of the genus Metachirus in the country.  We observed and photographed a brown four-eyed opossum individual, M. myosuros, in Sierra Caral Water and Forest Reserve, Izabal, Guatemala.  Our observation of M. myosuros helps to fill in some of the gaps in the distribution of the northern populations of the species and represents the addition of a new genus to the mammal fauna reported for the country.