A possum is any of about 64 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi (and introduced to New Zealand). The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas. (The name is from Algonquian wapathemwa, not Greek or Latin, so the plural is possums, not possa.) Possum is also used in North America as a short form of Opossum. The possum's rank odour is due to its large musk glands located behind each ear.
Possums are small marsupials with brown or grey fur, ranging in size and weight from the length of a finger or 170 grams (6 ounces) (pygmy possums and wrist-winged gliders), to the length of 120 centimetres (four feet) or 14.5 kilograms (32 pounds) (brushtails and ringtails). In general, though, the larger possums are about the same size as a well-fed domestic cat. All possums are nocturnal and omnivorous, hiding in a nest in a hollow tree during the day and coming out during the night to forage for food. They fill much the same role in the Australian ecosystem that squirrels fill in the northern hemisphere and are broadly similar in appearance.
The two most common species of possums, the Common Brushtail and Common Ringtail, are also among the largest.
Possums are small marsupials with brown or grey fur, ranging in size and weight from the length of a finger or 170 grams (6 ounces) (pygmy possums and wrist-winged gliders), to the length of 120 centimetres (four feet) or 14.5 kilograms (32 pounds) (brushtails and ringtails). In general, though, the larger possums are about the same size as a well-fed domestic cat. All possums are nocturnal and omnivorous, hiding in a nest in a hollow tree during the day and coming out during the night to forage for food. They fill much the same role in the Australian ecosystem that squirrels fill in the northern hemisphere and are broadly similar in appearance.
The two most common species of possums, the Common Brushtail and Common Ringtail, are also among the largest.
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