Short-eared possum

Trichosurus caninus

Description:

Body length 500 mm; tail length 400 mm; weight 4 kg. Cat-sized; usually dark slate-grey, but may be pure black; short round ears; tail not bushy near tip.

Habitat:

This species is endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it ranges from south-eastern Queensland and in southern coastal New South Wales to about Newcastle. It occurs from sea level up to 1,600 m asl. It is a nocturnal, mostly scansorial species, of various tall open and closed forest types. It is most common in forested gullies containing trees with hollows

Notes:

Spotted in trees close to pool area.

Species ID Suggestions

21 Comments

AliceGreenup 10 years ago

Thanks a lot mark! First time I've managed to get one on camera!

Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

Nice series Alice.

AliceGreenup 10 years ago

:)!

WildlifeLover 10 years ago

youre welcome

AliceGreenup 10 years ago

Thanks for the favourites! I really appriciate it! :)

AliceGreenup 10 years ago

Thanks Daniele! I wasn't aware of that information before i did some research last night. Before then i would have looked at mine & said he was simply a mountain brush-tail, but now i know better! I'll take a look at yours

DanielePralong 10 years ago

Great info Alice! Your lovely spotting got me to revise an older one of mines, the ID of which I was never sure of! Feel free to read through text and comments and tell me what you think!
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/630...

AliceGreenup 10 years ago

An interesting fact about these guys; They were once classed as mountain brush tailed possums however DNA testing showed they are in fact genetically different from their southern cousins in Victoria & Southern NSW. The possums found north of Sydney were re-named the Short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus) and their southern cousins retained the name Mountain Brush Tailed possum (Trichosurus cunninghami).