How big does a Common brushtail possum get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) reaches an average size of 47.4 cm (1′ 7″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 14.67 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 2.69 kg (5.94 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Common brushtail possums have 1 babies about 1 times per year. The Common brushtail possum (genus: Trichosurus) is a member of the family Phalangeridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
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, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia, and the second-largest of the 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, leaves of eucalyptus are a significant part of the diet, but rarely the sole item eaten. The 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.The common brushtail possum was introduced to New Zealand in the 1850s to establish a fur industry, but in the mild subtropical climate of New Zealand, and with few to no natural predators, it thrived to the extent that it became a major agricultural and conservation pest.
Animals of the same family as a Common brushtail possum
We found other animals of the Phalangeridae family:
- Mountain cuscus with a size of 40.7 cm (1′ 5″)
- Northern common cuscus with a size of 42.4 cm (1′ 5″)
- Ornate cuscus bringing 1.79 kilos (3.95 lbs) to the scale
- Ground cuscus with a size of 45.3 cm (1′ 6″)
- Woodlark cuscus with a size of 37.2 cm (1′ 3″)
- Black-spotted cuscus with 1 babies per litter
- Short-eared possum with 1 babies per litter
- Rothschild’s cuscus bringing 1.37 kilos (3.02 lbs) to the scale
- Silky cuscus with a size of 41.2 cm (1′ 5″)
- Admiralty Island cuscus with 1 babies per litter
Animals with the same size as a Common brushtail possum
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Common brushtail possum:
- Tres Marias rabbit with a size of 42.8 cm (1′ 5″)
- Rüppell’s fox with a size of 46 cm (1′ 7″)
- Lesser spot-nosed monkey with a size of 41 cm (1′ 5″)
- Tufted ground squirrel with a size of 40.6 cm (1′ 4″)
- Nine-banded armadillo with a size of 44.3 cm (1′ 6″)
- Maned sloth with a size of 54.9 cm (1′ 10″)
- Greater spot-nosed monkey with a size of 54.9 cm (1′ 10″)
- Raffles’ banded langur with a size of 51.4 cm (1′ 9″)
- Bushy-tailed mongoose with a size of 44.6 cm (1′ 6″)
- Pale fox with a size of 43 cm (1′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Common brushtail possum
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Common brushtail possum:
- African sheath-tailed bat
- Horsfield’s tarsier
- Tana River mangabey
- Lorentz’s mosaic-tailed rat
- Dusky pademelon
- Asian golden cat
- Pallas’s squirrel
- Doria’s tree-kangaroo
- Scaly-tailed possum
- Bonnet macaque
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Common brushtail possum
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Common brushtail possum:
- Beira (antelope) with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Sugar glider with an average maximal age of 14 years
- L’Hoest’s monkey with an average maximal age of 16 years
- Nubian ibex with an average maximal age of 17 years
- Ground cuscus with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Red slender loris with an average maximal age of 16.33 years
- Mountain reedbuck with an average maximal age of 12.25 years
- Meerkat with an average maximal age of 12.5 years
- Pallas’s squirrel with an average maximal age of 16.08 years
- Brown hyena with an average maximal age of 17 years
Animals with the same weight as a Common brushtail possum
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Trichosurus vulpecula:
- Small Indian civet with a weight of 2.95 kilos (6.5 lbs)
- Orinoco agouti with a weight of 2.65 kilos (5.84 lbs)
- Black lemur with a weight of 2.48 kilos (5.47 lbs)
- Sanford’s brown lemur with a weight of 2.39 kilos (5.27 lbs)
- Egyptian mongoose with a weight of 3 kilos (6.61 lbs)
- Sand cat with a weight of 2.82 kilos (6.22 lbs)
- Meller’s mongoose with a weight of 2.24 kilos (4.94 lbs)
- Corsac fox with a weight of 2.62 kilos (5.78 lbs)
- Hoary bamboo rat with a weight of 2.45 kilos (5.4 lbs)
- Giant forest genet with a weight of 2.74 kilos (6.04 lbs)