Patagonian opossum Patagonian opossum The Patagonian opossum "(Lestodelphys halli)" is the sole species in genus Lestodelphys. The Patagonian opossum occurs further south, in Argentina, than any other living marsupial. Although distributed throughout some parts of southern Argentina, it is one of the least known mammals of South America. They have been spotted near Monte Phytogeographic Province, and in Patagonia Phytogeographic Province, yet there are no records of Patagonian opossums in central Patagonia, which leads mammalogists to believe that they can only live in the Patagonian steppe. There are two areas in the Patagonian steppe where these animals are often found: the province
Patagonian Ice Sheet of more than 500,000 km³, of which about 4% remains glaciated today in two separated portions known as the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. The ice-volume reduction contributed to a global sea-level rise of about 1.2 meters. However, during the first glacial period at the beginning of the Pleistocene ice extended to the present-day Argentine coast. With each successive glaciation it is known that the ice has stopped further and further to the west, with aridity always serving as the decisive factor halting glacier spread: it is believed that the east-west precipitation gradients during glacial periods were even steeper