Common Brushtail Possum

Trichosurus vulpecula

The Common Brushtail Possum is a species of Marsupial found in Australia. As the name probably suggests, they are a common animal, and have the largest range and most abundant population of any Australian Marsupial.

The Brushtails do in fact have very bushy tails, though the underside had a naked patch. This is because the Possum's tail is prehensile, and that patch allows them to grip things better. They feed on a variety of plants, including fruits and Eucalyptus, and have also been known to eat the occasional animal. The species is also nocturnal, meaning that they need to find dark places to sleep in during the daytime- possibly even inside a house roof!

Common Brushtail Possums are arboreal creatures, and are excellent climbers. The females even have front-facing pouches for their offspring, in part so that they don't lose them. Some other marsupials, especially those that dig, have backwards facing pouches to keep dirt and debris away from their developing infants.

A baby Possum is only 1.5cm at birth, and will need to grow in the pouch for 5 months. Once they leave the pouch they will ride around on mother's back for an additional couple of months.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Australia
Size : Body Length around 23in (58cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Infraclass : Marsupialia
Order : Diprotodontia -- Family : Phalangeridae -- Genus : Trichosurus -- Species : T. vulpecula

Ground Cuscus

Phalanger gymnotis

After a week of cold-blooded, carnivorous Sharks, I think we're due for something warm, fluffy, and fruit eating. Meet the Ground Cuscus, a furry Marsupial native to New Guinea and its surrounding islands.

The Ground Cuscus has short grey hair with a white belly, along with a prehensile tail and opposable digits on their back feet to assist in climbing. They are nocturnal, solitary creatures, and feed during the night on fruits and leaves. The Cuscuses really only come together to breed, and like all Marsupials they have very, very short gestational periods. A mother Cuscus will be pregnant for only 13 days, though it will be another 100 days before their young actually leave the pouch.

Cuscuses are relatives to the Possums, and like the Possums, most of them are found living up in the trees almost exclusively. Not so with today's Cuscus! While they do feed in trees (and have the aforementioned adaptataions to help with climbing) they actually burrow in the ground (hence the name). They are the only Cuscus species to do this, but unfortunately those burrows make them easy to find by predators as well as human hunters.

Ground Cuscuses are taken by humans for use in traditional medicine, as food, and for the pet trade. Though they are listed as being of Least Concern (due to their large range and number of individuals), the population is on the decline overall and has actually been eliminated from some areas. Currently the species can be found in a handful of protected locations, but more measures will need to be taken if the downward trend continues.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : New Guinea
Size : Body Length up to 17in (44cm), Weight up to 6.5lbs (3kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Diprotodontia
Family : Phalangeridae -- Genus : Phalanger -- Species : P. gymnotis

Spotted Cuscus

Spilocuscus maculatus

The Spotted Cuscus is a very shy, nocturnal, arboreal marsupial that can be found in parts of Australia and New Guinea. They are very difficult to spot, but that is due to their elusive shyness, and not to the fact that they are rare or uncommon. These Cuscuses are hunted in their range, but their population is stable.

The Spotted Cuscus lives in lowland tropical rainforests, and they feed primarily on leaves and fruits, though they have been observed consuming small animals and eggs as well.

Mating happens year round, and like most of their other actions, takes place in trees. The female will be pregnant for about a week, before giving birth to offspring that weigh only a gram! Though she is capable of raising three babies at a time in her forward opening pouch, there is usually only one. The offspring will stay in the pouch for 6-7 months, and will reach sexual maturity after a year.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : Northern Australia, New Guinea
Size : Body Length up to 26in (65cm), Weight up to 13lbs (6kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Subclass : Marsupialia
Order : Diprotodontia -- Family : Phalangeridae -- Genus : Spilocuscus -- Species : S. maculatus

Swamp Wallaby

Though the name might suggest that they are denizens of the swaps, Swap Wallabies also live in forests and upland areas of Eastern Australia. They are the only members of their genus, Wallabia.

Wallabia bicolor

Swamp Wallabies are nocturnal, solitary marsupials. They are mostly-browsing herbivores that eat a huge variety of plants, including grasses, shrubs, and bark.

They can live up to 15 years, and reach sexual maturity after only 15 months. Like all Marsupials, they give birth to very tiny, underdeveloped young. Swamp Wallabies have only one Joey at a time, which is born after a gestation period of about five weeks.  They remain in the pouch for eight or nine months, and will often remain with the mother until they themselves reach sexual maturity. Swamp Wallabies are unique in that their gestation period is longer than their estrus cycle.

Some farmers consider Swamp Wallabies to be threats, because they feed on crops. Hunting and habitat loss have have been issues for these Wallabies, but overall they remain very common.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern

Location : Australia

Size : Length 30in (76cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Infraclass : Marsupialia
Order : Diprotodontia -- Family : Macropodidae -- Genus : Wallabia -- Species : W. bicolor

Mountain Pygmy Possum

Burramys parvus

The Mountain Pygmy Possum is a tiny little Marsupial whose prehensile tail is actually longer than the rest of its body! They are only about the size of a mouse, measuring only a few inches in length, and weighing just 45g. They have dense dark fur on the top, with lighter undersides.

Mountain Pygmy Possums are rare and critically endangered. They were actually considered extinct until 1966, when the first live one was found (before then they only known from fossil forms).

Only three populations of these little guys are known to science, and it is believed that there are less than 2,000 individuals left. All three of these populations are found in southern Australia, in either New South Wales or Victoria. The Possums live in rock screes and boulder fields of high elevation areas. They are the only Alpine Marsupials in Australia.

Mountain Pygmy Possums also have the distinction of being more terrestrial than their other Possum cousins. While they are still excellent climbers, they spend most of their time on the ground. They are a nocturnal species, and hunt moths during the evening hours. During the winter months they hibernate, surviving off of stored up fat reserves.

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IUCN Status : Critically Endangered
Location : Southern Australia
Size : Length up to 11cm

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Infraclass : Marsupialia
Order : Diprotodontia -- Family : Burramyidae -- Genus : Burramys -- Species : B. parvus

Giant Koala

Giant Koala Model

Thousands and a millions of years ago, Australia went through a boom of Megafauna. Cow-sized Wombats! Huge Kangaroos! Massive Snakes! There was even a Giant Koala!

Unfortunately... the Giant Koala wasn't really all that giant. Fossils demonstrate that the species was about 1.3 larger, but much heavier and more robust.

What makes the species really interesting is that they happened to live side by side with modern Koalas. They were not their ancestors, but rather their genus sharing cousins. This brings up questions regarding where Koalas actually came from, as for a long time they were considered to be descendants of the Giant Koalas. So far the fossil record hasn't provided the full picture (which is common, as there are very exact conditions that must be met for something to fossilize).

Unfortunately, we do not know what caused the extinction of the Giant Koala. But with modern Koalas facing a similar fate, we may see history tragically  repeat itself.

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Status : Extinct for 50,000 years
Location : Australia
Size : Weight around 30lbs (13kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Infraclass : Marsupialia
Order : Diprotodontia -- Family : Phascolarctidae -- Genus : Phascolarctos -- Species : P. stirtoni