The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the
Phalangeridae, a family of
marsupial
Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...
s. They are native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
(including
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the
hypaxial muscles from the
epipubic to the
pelvis
The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...
, much like in
placental
Placental mammals (infraclass Placentalia ) are one of the three extant subdivisions of the class Mammalia, the other two being Monotremata and Marsupialia. Placentalia contains the vast majority of extant mammals, which are partly distinguished ...
mammals, meaning that their
breathing
Breathing (spiration or ventilation) is the rhythmical process of moving air into ( inhalation) and out of ( exhalation) the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxy ...
cycle is more similar to the latter than to that of other non-
eutheria
Eutheria (from Greek , 'good, right' and , 'beast'; ), also called Pan-Placentalia, is the clade consisting of Placentalia, placental mammals and all therian mammals that are more closely related to placentals than to marsupials.
Eutherians ...
n mammals.
In general, they are more terrestrially oriented than other possums, and in some ways might parallel
primates
Primates is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63 ...
.
The genus contains these species:
*
Northern brushtail possum, ''T. arnhemensis''
*
Short-eared possum, ''T. caninus''
*
Mountain brushtail possum, ''T. cunninghami''
*
Coppery brushtail possum, ''T. johnstonii''
*
Common brushtail possum
The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Ancient Greek, Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae ...
, ''T. vulpecula''
Gallery
Northen brushtail possum.jpg, Northern brushtail possum (''T. arnhemensis'')
Trichosurus caninus Gould.jpg, Short-eared possum (''T. caninus'')
Coppery Brushtail Possum (3625102158).jpg, Coppery brushtail possum (''T. johnstonii'')
Brushtail Possum- Grampians National Park.jpg, Common brushtail possum (''T. vulpecula'')
References
Possums
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by René Lesson
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