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The common brushtail possum has a head and body length of 32–58 cm (13–23 in) [ 7 ] with a tail length of 24–40 cm (9.4–16 in). [ 8 ] It weighs 1.2–4.5 kg (2.6–9.9 lb). [ 8 ] Males are generally larger than females. In addition, the coat of the male tends to be reddish at the shoulders.
Baby opossums, like their Australian cousins, are called joeys. [35] Female opossums often give birth to very large numbers of young, most of which fail to attach to a teat , although as many as thirteen young can attach, [ 36 ] and therefore survive, depending on species.
The long lactation of the ringtail possums may give the young more time to learn skills in the communal nest as well as to climb and forage in the trees. [4] The young are first able to vocalise and open their eyes between 90 and 106 days of age. [5] They leave their mother's pouch at 120–130 days.
The Virginia opossum is the original animal named "opossum", a word which comes from Algonquian wapathemwa, meaning "white animal". Colloquially, the Virginia opossum is frequently just called a "possum". [8] The term is applied more generally to any of the other marsupials of the families Didelphidae and Caenolestidae.
The common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), also called the southern or black-eared opossum [2] or gambá, and sometimes called a possum, is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia (reaching the coast of the South Pacific Ocean to the central coast of Peru), including Trinidad and Tobago and the Windwards in the Caribbean, [2] where it is called manicou. [3]
Sugar glider. 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] They have very similar habits and appearance to the flying squirrel ...
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. Ngwayir forage at night through the upper canopy of trees, feeding on ...
Binomial name. Trichosurus cunninghami. Lindenmayer, Dubach and Viggers, 2002. Mountain brushtail possum range. The mountain brushtail possum, or southern bobuck (Trichosurus cunninghami), is a nocturnal, semi- arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae native to southeastern Australia. It was not described as a separate species until 2002.