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Honey possum, noolbenger - TARSIPES SPENCERAE
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Possum": The word "opossum" was taken from the Algonquian Indian word for the animal. Although other animals in South America and Australia are called "possums," they are not closely related to the Virginia animal, and only derive their name by dint of a generally similar shape. True opossums are unique to North America. "Noolbenger" is probably a native Australian word, as are most of the common animal names in Australia.
Location: Southwestern corner of Australia.
Habitat: Terrestrial, on sandy plains and heathlands.
Description: A mouse-sized, delicate possum with a very long, whiplike prehensile tail and an elongated snout. The tail is sparsely haired with a naked tip. Its short coarse fur is grayish-brown with three dark longitudinal stripes down its back, and light on the belly. It is about 3" long, and weighs 0.4-0.9 oz.
Behavior: With no known close relations, this unique, nimble animal has a highly modified snout to feed on the nectar of flowers. Its skull is elongated and narrow, its teeth degenerated, and its lips have overlapping flanges that form a strawlike tube through which it can suck nectar, pollen, and minute insects. The tongue is specially adapted to reach inside flowers with bristles and a tuft at the tip, and it can extend an inch beyond the tiny animal's nose. The nocturnal honey possum may move seasonally in colonies to favored plant species when in flower. By day it sleeps in a grass nest in thick shrubbery or in an abandoned bird's nest.
Reproduction: The breeding season is probably June to August, with litters containing one to four young (usually two). At four months the young leave the pouch but continue nursing for two more weeks.
Go to the Marsupials Page to get a general discussion of these animals.
Or go to the Opossum Index to study more opossums.
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