Tag Archive for 'Possum'

The pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax kambuayai), a female in Klalik area, Vogelkop Peninsula. Image credit: Carlos Bocos.

Two Species of Marsupials Thought Lost for 6,000 Years Found Alive in New Guinea

Mar 24, 2026 by News Staff

In the remote rainforests of New Guinea’s Vogelkop Peninsula, scientists have spotted two marsupial species — the pygmy long-fingered possum (Dactylonax...

Recent experiments have demonstrated that carnivores and ungulates in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America fear the human ‘super predator’ far more than other predators. Australian mammals have been a focus of research on predator naiveté because it is suspected they show atypical responses. To experimentally test if mammals in Australia also most fear humans, McGann et al. quantified the responses of four native marsupials (eastern gray kangaroo, Bennett’s wallaby, Tasmanian pademelon, common brushtail possum) and introduced fallow deer to playbacks of predator (human, dog, Tasmanian devil, wolf) or non-predator control (sheep) vocalizations. Image credit: Pen_ash.

Australian Marsupials Fear Humans Far More Than Any Other Predator, New Study Shows

May 23, 2024 by News Staff

Scientists from the University of Tasmania and Western University have experimentally demonstrated that kangaroos, wallabies and other Australian marsupials...

Common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). Image credit: J.J. Harrison, https://www.jjharrison.com.au / CC BY-SA 2.5 Deed.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Common Brushtail Possum

Oct 17, 2023 by News Staff

Scientists at the University of Otago have produced a near-complete genome assembly for the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) — a species...

Feather-tailed possums (Distoechurus pennatus).

Paleontologists Describe Four New Fossil Species of Feathertail Possums

Oct 9, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Paleontologists have identified four new fossil feathertail possum species (family Acrobatidae) from the fossilized specimens found in the Late Oligocene...

Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus (top left), a relative of Chunia pledgei, and the marsupial lion Wakaleo oldfieldi (right). Image credit: Peter Schouten / CC BY-SA.

Bizarre Possum Species Lived in Australia 25 Million Years Ago

Mar 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of ektopodontid possum has been described from Oligocene-age fossils found in central Australia. Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus...