Trichosurus vulpecula
(Kerr, 1792)
Common Brush-tailed Possum
Taxonomy
Subclass | : Theria |
Infraclass | : Marsupialia |
Superorder | : Australidelphia |
Order | : Diprotodontia |
Suborder | : Phalangerida |
Superfamily | : Phalangeroidea |
Family | : Phalangeridae |
Subfamily | : Trichosurinae |
Genus | : Trichosurus |
Species status
Authority citation
Kerr, R. 1792. The Animal Kingdom, or Zoological System of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnaeus. Class I. Mammalia. A. Strahan, T. Cadell, and W. Creech, Edinburgh, 462 pp.
Authority publication link
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38664222Original name as described
Didelphis vulpecula
Other common names
Common Brushtail · Silver-grey Possum
Type locality
"Botany Bay [= Sydney], " New South Wales, Australia.
Biogeographic realm
Australasia
Country distribution
Australia
Taxonomy notes
tentatively does not include T. johnstonii, but does include arnhemensis; recent molecular phylogenetic data showed that T. johnstonii is genetically imbedded within T. vulpecula; this paper, however, suggests that T. vulpecula may be a species complex (showing that both johnstonii and arnhemensis form monophyletic clades, as well as a few other populations/subspecies), and we tentatively retain T. johnstonii here pending a more complete revision of the T. vulpecula complex
Taxonomy notes citation
Kerle, J. A. and How, R. A. 2008. Common Brushtail Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula. In: S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (eds), The mammals of Australia. Third Edition, pp. 274-276. Reed New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. · Wilson D., Mittermeier R. 2015. Handbook of the mammals of the world. Vol. 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. CSIRO. · Middleton, S. C., Davis, R. A., Travouillon, K. J., Hopkins, A. J., Mills, H. R., & Umbrello, L. S. (2025). Revised phylogeography of the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) reveals new insights into genetic structure across Australia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 204(1), zlaf026.
IUCN Red List status
Least Concern
Species Permalink
https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1000402Country distribution map
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Names and synonyms
Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.
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