File:Trichosurus_vulpecula_1.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Trichosurus vulpecula
Sign in to saveAlso known as common brush-tailed possum, silver-grey possum, common brushtail, silver-gray possum, common brushtail possum
species of mammal endemic to Australia
OverviewAI-generated
Trichosurus vulpecula, commonly known as the Common brushtail possum or Silver-gray Brushtail Possum, is a species of mammal. It belongs to the family Phalangeridae within the order Diprotodontia and the class Mammalia. The taxon was described by Kerr in 1792 and is part of the genus Trichosurus.
This species is endemic to Australia, where it has been recorded in numerous scientific collections, including those at AMNH and DMNS. It is also considered invasive to New Zealand. The IUCN Red List assessed its conservation status as Least Concern in 2016. The longest observed lifespan for this organism is 15.9 years.
Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, IUCN Red List, Gbif Occ, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Species
Least ConcernSPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderDiprotodontia
- FamilyPhalangeridae
via GBIF · IUCN
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 5,484
- With media
- 146
- Family
- Phalangeridae
- Collections
- RBINS-SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE, AMNH, ANWC, DMNS
- Recorded in
- Australia
Bird sounds
- call· Australia· quality A
- call· Australia· quality A
- call· Australia· quality A
- call· Australia· quality A
via Xeno-canto
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Trichosurus
- Image
- Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) with joey Triabunna.jpg
Show 11 more facts
- taxon rank
- species
- IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern
- Commons category
- Trichosurus vulpecula
- taxon name
- Trichosurus vulpecula
- Commons gallery
- Trichosurus vulpecula
- taxon common name
- lisičji kuzu
- endemic to
- Australia
- invasive to
- New Zealand
- longest observed lifespan
- 15.9
- taxon author citation
- (Kerr, 1792)
- short name
- T. vulpecula
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Brushtail possums nest in natural tree hollows that occur over many, many years to create a void that animals then find and use. With the loss of more and more large trees in suburban areas, nest boxes act as a hollow tree alternatives to provide an instant space for native animals to call home. The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus Phalangista) is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia and invasive in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the Australasian possums.
Like most possums, the common brushtail possum is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. In most Australian habitats, eucalyptus leaves are a significant part of the diet, but rarely the sole item eaten. Its tail is prehensile and naked on its lower underside. The four colour variations are silver-grey, brown, black, and gold.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Trichosurus vulpecula” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.