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The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus Phalangista [4]) is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia and invasive in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the possums.
Six species of phalangeriformes, clockwise from the top left: greater glider (Petauroides volans), sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps), common spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus), feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus), eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), and common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
Habitat and dietary requirements of both the mountain brushtail possum and the short-eared possum are reported to be more specialised than those of their close relative the common brushtail possum, T. vulpecula. [10] As a result, the common brushtail possum has been able to colonise a greater variety of habitats than either of its bobuck relatives.
The Phalangeridae are a family of mostly nocturnal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Eastern Indonesia, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives. Considered a type of possum, most species are arboreal, and they inhabit a wide range of forest habitats from alpine woodland to eucalypt forest and tropical ...
The brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), also known by its Australian native name tuan, [3] the common wambenger, the black-tailed mousesack [4] or the black-tailed phascogale, is a rat-sized arboreal carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, characterized by a tuft of black silky hairs on the terminal portion of its tail.
The species are commonly known as possums, opossums, [3] gliders, and cuscus. The common name "(o)possum" for various Phalangeriformes species derives from the creatures' resemblance to the opossums of the Americas (the term comes from Powhatan language aposoum "white animal", from Proto-Algonquian * wa·p-aʔɬemwa "white dog"). [ 4 ]
The northern brushtail possum eats a variety of plant matter, including fruit, leaves, flowers, and seeds. [5] Brushtail possums are known to be tolerant of many plant toxins and can eat tree leaves that other animals find poisonous. Possums also eat insects, moths, grubs, snails, birds’ eggs, and chicks.
In general, they are more terrestrially oriented than other possums, and in some ways might parallel primates. The genus contains these species: Northern brushtail possum, T. arnhemensis; Short-eared possum, T. caninus; Mountain brushtail possum, T. cunninghami; Coppery brushtail possum, T. johnstonii; Common brushtail possum, T. vulpecula