NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Brush-tailed Possum
Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus Phalangista) is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia and invasive in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the Australasian possums. Like most possums, the common brushtail possum is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has been known to eat small mammals such as rats. In most Australian habitats, eucalyptus leaves are a significant part of the diet, but rarely the sole item eaten. Its tail is prehensile and naked on its lower underside. The four colour variations are silver-grey, brown, black, and gold. It is the Australian marsupial most often seen by city dwellers, as it is one of few that thrive in cities and a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. Around human habitations, common brushtails are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and kitchen raids.
Wikipedia contributors, Common brushtail possum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:27:06.720926+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Kerr, 1792)
- Common name
- Common Brush-tailed Possum
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Diprotodontia
- Family
- Phalangeridae
- Genus
- Trichosurus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
- orderDiprotodontia Owen, 1866
- suborderPhalangeriformes Szalay in Archer, 1982
- superfamilyPhalangeroidea Thomas, 1888
- familyPhalangeridae Thomas, 1888
- subfamilyTrichosurinae Flynn, 1911
- genusTrichosurus Lesson, 1828
- speciesTrichosurus vulpecula (Kerr, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Trichosurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Short-eared Brush-tailed PossumTrichosurus caninus (Ogilby, 1835) | PhalangeridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mountain Brush-tailed PossumTrichosurus cunninghami Lindenmayer, Dubach & Viggers, 2002 | PhalangeridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Coppery Brush-tailed PossumTrichosurus johnstonii (Ramsay, 1888) | PhalangeridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Didelphis vulpecula Kerr, 1792 Kerr, 1792 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552696 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7D574. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.