Species

Common Brushtail Possum

Mammals

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Common Brushtail Possum." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/species/common-brushtail-possum.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Common Brushtail Possum. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/species/common-brushtail-possum

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-common-brushtail-possum,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Common Brushtail Possum},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/species/common-brushtail-possum},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

The common brushtail possum is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial native to Australia and the second-largest of the Australasian possums, feeding mainly on eucalyptus leaves and other foliage but occasionally on small mammals such as rats. It is the marsupial city dwellers in Australia see most often, thriving in a wide range of natural and human-altered habitats and readily raiding fruit trees, vegetable gardens and kitchens around human homes. Introduced to New Zealand in the 1850s to found a fur industry, it found few natural predators in the country's mild subtropical climate and has since become a major agricultural and conservation pest there.

Facts

Scientific Name

Trichosurus vulpecula 1

Conservation Status

Least Concern 1

Population Estimate

30,000,000 1

New Zealand introduced (invasive) population only, not a global figure; current estimate is down from a 1980s peak of 60-70 million after decades of control measures, per the cited Wikipedia article.

Sources

1. Common Brushtail Possum (Wikipedia)

WikipediaTaxobox, binomial name

Quote, Taxobox, binomial name