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Opossums ( / əˈpɒsəm /) are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia ( / daɪˌdɛlfɪˈmɔːrfiə /) endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera.
- Opossums and Possums Aren’T The Same Animal.
- They’Re The only Marsupials Found North of Mexico.
- They Can’T Choose When They “Play dead.”
- An Offensive Odor Helps Sell The Performance Even more.
- They Help to Slow The Spread of Lyme disease.
- Their Memories Are Surprisingly Sharp.
- They’Re Immune to Most Forms of Snake Venom.
- They Almost Never Get Rabies.
- Their Tails Act Like A Fifth appendage.
- They’Re Constantly Self-Grooming.
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In North America, opossum and possum describe the same animal, but in Australia the word possum refers to a completely different order of organisms. Among the bestknown of their respective types are the Virginia opossum and the brushtail possum. Both are small- to medium-sized, omnivorous marsupials, but the similarities end there. The possum looks...
Marsupials—mammals that carry and nurse their young in pouches—are absent from much of the world, and in Canada and the United States, the Virginia opossum (Didelphia virginiana) is the sole representativeof the group. Like other marsupials, mother possums give birth to tiny, underdeveloped offspring (called joeys) that immediately crawl into a pou...
Perhaps the most famous characteristic of the opossum is its tendency to play deadin front of predators. When the animal experiences intense fear in the face of danger, it seizes up and flops to the ground where it can remain for hours staring blankly ahead and sticking out its tongue. It’s an impressive defensive mechanism, but its effectiveness c...
A picture of a possum playing dead doesn’t really do it justice. To get the full experience, you need to be standing over to it to smell the putrid odor it emits when pretending to be a corpse. Along with its body going limp, one will appear to stop breathing, discharge its bowels, and release a pungent aroma into the air. The smelly substance it s...
Even if possums aren’t the cutest creatures in the forest, they should be a welcome addition to your backyard. Unlike other mammals that carry ticks, which may spread Lyme disease, possums gobble up about 90 percentof the ticks that attach to them. According to the National Wildlife Federation, a single possum consumes 5000 of the parasites per tic...
Opossums have impressive memories—at least when it comes to food. Researchers found that possums are better at remembering which runway led to a tasty treat than cats, dogs, and even rats. They can also recall the smell of toxic substancesup to a year after trying them.
While most animals look at a snake and see danger, a possum sees its next meal. The animals are immune to the venom of nearly every type of snake found in their native range (including rattlesnakes), the one exception being the coral snake. Possums take advantage of this by chowing down on snakes on a regular basis. Researchers have been trying to ...
While possums aren’t totally immune to rabies (a few cases have been documented), finding a specimen with the disease is extremely unlikely. Marsupials, like possums, have a lower body temperature than the placental mammals that dominate North America—in other words, their bodies aren't suited to the rabies virus.
Opossums have prehensile tails. These appendages are sometimes used as an extra arm: They can carry grass and leaves for building nests or grip the sides of trees to provide extra stability while climbing. Baby possums can even use their tails to hang from branches upside down, as they’re often depicted doing in cartoons. But it’s a myththat possum...
Thanks to their whole acting-and-smelling-like-a-corpse routine, opossums aren’t known as the most sanitary animals in nature. But they take cleanliness seriously: According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, possums—like house cats—use their tongues and paws to groom themselves frequentlyand thoroughly. Possums largely lack sweat g...
Learn about the only marsupials in North America, their adaptations, behaviors, and benefits. Discover how they differ from possums in Australia, how they play dead, and why they help prevent Lyme disease.
- Michele Debczak
Learn about possums, a group of 70 tree-living marsupial species native to Australia and Indonesia. Find out how they differ from opossums, how they mate and reproduce, and which ones are endangered.
- 1 min
Opossum is a term for several species of New World marsupials, especially the Virginia opossum of North America. Learn about their features, behavior, diet, reproduction, and distribution from Britannica.
Learn about the Possum, a group of marsupials that live in Australia, Sulawesi, and New Guinea. Find out about their description, behavior, reproduction, and different species, such as the sugar glider and the feathertail glider.
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Opossums are the only marsupials in North America, with dozens of species and a distinctive play-dead defense. Learn about their diet, reproduction, scavenging, and tree-climbing skills.
Learn about the opossum, a marsupial native to North and South America, and not related to the possum of Australia. Find out about its features, behavior, diet, reproduction, and human interaction.
