Common Brush-tailed Possum

• Introduced to New Zealand in 1840 for the fur trade, it has become an invasive pest there, devastating to native plants and wildlife.
• It eats eucalypt leaves, flowers, fruit, insects and occasionally carrion.
• It lives in woodland, semi-arid country and towns across much of Australia and Tasmania.
• ecologíaIntroduced to New Zealand in the 19th century for the fur trade, it has become one of the country's most damaging invasive species, having no natural predators there.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marsupial mammal)

Habitat & environment

Woodland, semi-arid country and towns across much of Australia and Tasmania; introduced to New Zealand

Birth weight

~0.2 grams

Size at birth

Hairless and the size of a bean at birth

Sexual maturity

Female: ~1 year | Male: ~2 years

Gestation / incubation

17-18 days

Litter / clutch size

1 young per birth (rarely 2)

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of up to 14-17 years in captivity

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; Possum Man; Caversham Wildlife; EBSCO Research Starters; Australian Geographic; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animalia.bio; Queensland Government; PMC (paternity and predation studies)

Best time: All year round, at night; it is common even in urban parks and on the rooftops of Australian cities.