Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
When an opossum is "playing possum", the animal's lips are drawn back, the teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth, the eyes close or half-close, and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal glands. The stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away without reaction.
The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. The five extant species of pygmy possum are grouped into two genera . Four of the species are endemic to Australia , with one species also co-occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia .
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 mountain brushtail possum is known to feed at ground level [13] [15] [16] and they are able to utilise hypogeal and epigeal fungi as well as ground-level plants food resources. [13] [16] [17] The mountain brushtail possum is also reported to require tree hollows for use as dens. [18]
Animal lovers can't get enough of little Ruth's heartwarming reaction to seeing a possum for the very first time. Possum steals 3-year-old’s heart in ‘endorphin-boosting’ TikTok, and animal ...
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 sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum.The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability to glide through the air, much like a flying squirrel. [8]