An intrepid expedition team set off in 2018 to look for a mysterious species of squirrel in the Peruvian Andes. What they found instead was a brand-new species of opossum. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

“I realized immediately that this was something unusual,” said lead researcher and Cal Poly Humboldt Biological Sciences professor Silvia Pavan in a statement .

The new opossum has reddish-brown fur and a total body length of only 25 centimeters (10 inches) – though the tail makes up most of that length, as the body only measures around 10 centimeters (4 inches) long. The little marsupial also has some pretty impressive black eyeliner-style markings on its small face, almost as if it is wearing a mask. New spec

See Full Page