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Phalangerids are relatively large, compared with other possums.The smallest species, the Sulawesi dwarf cuscus, is cat-sized, averaging 34 cm (13 in) in length, while the largest, the black-spotted cuscus, is around 70 cm (28 in) long, and weighs 5 kg (11 lb).
A study showed that activity of bare-tailed woolly opossums can be affected by the extent of moonlight. While activity in males dropped from new moon to full moon (that is, with increasing exposure to moonlight), activity in females remained largely unaffected. [10] The opossum is arboreal (tree-living) and a good climber. [9]
It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum [3] (/ ˈ p ɒ s əm /; sometimes rendered as ' possum in written form to indicate the dropped "o").
For example, seven kea were found dead following an aerial possum control operation using 1080, at Fox Glacier in July 2008 [72] and a further seven had been found dead in August 2011, following a 1080 aerial possum control operation in Ōkārito Forest. [73] Traps are also considered a risk to kea.
Around the turn of the 20th century, the opossum was the subject of numerous songs, including "Carve dat Possum", a minstrel song written in 1875 by Sam Lucas. [ 66 ] Although it is widely distributed in the United States, the Virginia opossum's appearance in folklore and popularity as a food item has tied it closely to the American Southeast .
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.
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 western ringtail possum or ngwayir (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) is a species of possum found in a small area of Southwest Australia.They are a cat-sized marsupial with a stocky build, dark greyish-brown fur, pale underparts and a long prehensile tail with a whitish tip.