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Common Brushtail Possum

 
Animal Encyclopedia: Common brushtail possum
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Trichosurus vulpecula

TAXONOMY

Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792), Sydney, Australia.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Phalanger-renarrd; German: Gewöhnlicher Fuchskusu.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Has a woolly coat and a thick, well-furred tail. Size and coloration are highly variable; individuals may be gray, black, reddish, brown, or white. The ears are large, with a narrowly rounded tip.

DISTRIBUTION

Occurs throughout eastern and southwestern Australia and in Tasmania and, until recently, it occupied much of central Australia. It is now common in New Zealand, where it was introduced about 150 years ago.

HABITAT

Usually forests and woodlands, but this species is extremely versatile and may occupy many different habitat types, including semiaraid areas devoid of trees and suburban and urban areas.

BEHAVIOR

Generally solitary, nocturnal, and arboreal. It most commonly nests in tree hollows, but may also nest in roofs or in burrows in the ground. In areas of low density, adults may aggressively defend discrete territories, but where population density is high, home ranges of individuals may overlap widely.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

A wide variety of plants is eaten, and occasionally small animals and insects are taken.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Breeding occurs year-round, although births peak in fall and spring. Females usually produce one or, less commonly, two litters per year. After a gestation period of about 18 days, one young is usually born, which leaves the pouch after six to seven months. Probably promiscuous.

CONSERVATION STATUS

As it is very common in many areas, the brush-tailed possum is considered to be not threatened, although it has undergone a wide decline in central Australia and may be declining in southwest Australia.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Because it is common in developed areas such as city parks and suburban backyards, this possum has a closer interaction with people than any other Australian mammal. Pelts of common brush-tailed possums have been widely trapped and sold for the fur trade in Australia. In many areas, it is considered an agricultural pest and a potential vector of disease, and it is a pest in both crops and native forest in New Zealand, where it is non-native.

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Wikipedia: Common Brushtail Possum
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Common Brushtail Possum[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Phalangeridae
Genus: Trichosurus
Species: T. vulpecula
Binomial name
Trichosurus vulpecula
(Kerr, 1792)

The Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox") is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.

Like most possums, the Common Brushtail is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. In most Australian habitats, leaves of Eucalyptus are a significant part of the diet but rarely the sole item eaten. The tail is prehensile and naked on its lower underside.

It is the Australian marsupial most often seen by city-dwellers, as it is one of few that thrive in cities as well as a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. Around human habitations, Common Brushtails are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and kitchen raids.

In New Zealand, where it was introduced in the 1800s, it is a major agricultural and conservation pest.

Contents

Behaviour

Text document with red question mark.svg
 This section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (July 2008)
The Common Brushtail is a nocturnal folivore

During the day, Common Brushtails sleep in a den in a hollow tree or any other convenient place, notably ceiling spaces that are not securely sealed. Although primarily arboreal and not found in places without trees to provide refuge, they spend a good deal of time on the ground. They are able to stand upright.

The very loud hissing, crackling territorial call of the male Common Brushtail has a harsh quality. They have a number of other vocalisations, mainly consisting of pitched clicks. Most are also relatively quiet. Socially they may be solitary or they may form small groups which share territory.

Keeping of Brushtail Possums is prohibited in many areas, and they do not make good pets. If hand reared they will become tame to humans, but still keep an instinctive urge to explore their surrounding area which can bring them into contact with a number of threats. Not the least of which is the wild possums in the area which will be highly territorial and aggressive to any new possum. Feeding of hand reared possums is also involved, after weaning from a replacement possum milk formula they need a good mixture of native leaves and flowers, as well as fruits and vegetables. A common mistake is to feed captive possums solely on fruit and vegetables, which inhibits the correct development of gut microbes required for digestion, and can cause death.

Pest status in New Zealand

Main article: Common Brushtail Possum (New Zealand)

The Common Brushtail Possum was introduced into New Zealand to establish a fur industry and has now become a major agricultural and conservation pest.

References

  1. ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 50. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ Morris, K., Woinarski, J., Friend, T., Foulkes, J., Kerle, A. & Ellis, M. (2008). Trichosurus vulpecula. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Text document with red question mark.svg
 This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (March 2009)
  • Marsh, K. J., Wallis, I. R., & Foley, W. J. (2003). The effect of inactivating tannins on the intake of Eucalyptus foliage by a specialist Eucalyptus folivore (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) and a generalist herbivore (Trichosurus vulpecula). Australian Journal of Zoology, 51, 41-42.

External links

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Animal Encyclopedia. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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