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Following the arrival of Europeans in Australia, the term possum was borrowed to describe distantly related Australian marsupials of the suborder Phalangeriformes, which are more closely related to other Australian marsupials such as kangaroos.
- They're Not Aggressive. Even when confronted with a predator, they will use the infamous "playing possum" technique to appear dead and avoid an actual brawl.
- They Rarely Have Rabies. Unlike most other wild animals, possums are nearly completely immune to contracting rabies or passing it along. According to Dr. Karen Becker, this is due to their natural body temperature being too low to maintain hosting the virus.
- They Kill Thousands Of Ticks. According to stats reported by the National Wildlife Federation, a single possum can potentially eliminate 4,000 ticks in one week thanks to their extreme self-grooming methods (either crushing or consuming the ticks burrowing in their fur).
- They Won't Destroy Your Lawn Or Property. Unlike other nocturnal animals creeping around neighborhoods, possums won't destroy your lawn or property, and they don't spray like skunks.
- Kinds of Possums
- Mating and Reproduction
- Conservation Status
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Brushtail possums are the most widespread marsupial in Australiaand perhaps the most well-known possums. As their name suggests, brushtails have long, thick tails with a prehensile tip and a furless patch on the underside, both of which help them hang onto tree branches. Unlike many other possum species, these solitary, nocturnal creatures are high...
Mating systems among the Phalangeriformes vary widely. For instance, the rock-haunting possums from tropical Australia appear to choose just one mate, which scientists call monogamy. Some gliders take multiple mates, which is called polygamy, while others are monogamous, and still more are variants in between. One study found that mountain brushtai...
While some species, like the common brushtail possum, are doing well, many possum species are in danger of extinction. Thanks to fires, logging, and climate change, the fairy possum, or Leadbeater’s possum, is considered critically endangered. Likewise, the mahogany glider is listed as endangered due to the rapid rate at which its habitat is being ...
Learn about possums, a group of 70 tree-living marsupial species native to Australia and Indonesia. Find out how they differ from opossums, how they mate and reproduce, and which ones are endangered.
- 1 min
Everything you should know about the Possum. The Possum is a large group of marsupials that includes the sugar glider and cuscus.
- Michele Debczak
- Opossums and possums aren’t the same animal. In North America, opossum and possum describe the same animal, but in Australia the word possum refers to a completely different order of organisms.
- They’re the only marsupials found north of Mexico. Marsupials—mammals that carry and nurse their young in pouches—are absent from much of the world, and in Canada and the United States, the Virginia opossum (Didelphia virginiana) is the sole representative of the group.
- They can’t choose when they “play dead.” Perhaps the most famous characteristic of the opossum is its tendency to play dead in front of predators. When the animal experiences intense fear in the face of danger, it seizes up and flops to the ground where it can remain for hours staring blankly ahead and sticking out its tongue.
- An offensive odor helps sell the performance even more. A picture of a possum playing dead doesn’t really do it justice. To get the full experience, you need to be standing over to it to smell the putrid odor it emits when pretending to be a corpse.
Learn about the opossum, a marsupial native to North and South America, and not related to the possum of Australia. Find out about its features, behavior, diet, reproduction, and human interaction.
Opossum is a term for several species of New World marsupials, especially the Virginia opossum of North America. Learn about their features, behavior, diet, reproduction, and distribution from Britannica.
