How big does a Honey possum get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus) reaches an average size of 7.7 cm (0′ 4″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 2 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 9 grams (0.02 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Honey possums have 2 babies about 3 times per year. The Honey possum (genus: Tarsipes) is a member of the family Tarsipedidae.
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 honey possum or noolbenger refers to Tarsipes rostratus, a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering plants. Found in southwest Australia, it is an important pollinator for such plants as Banksia attenuata, Banksia coccinea and Adenanthos cuneatus.
Animals with the same size as a Honey possum
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Honey possum:
- Desert dormouse with a size of 8.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Little yellow-shouldered bat with a size of 6.5 cm (0′ 3″)
- North American least shrew with a size of 6.8 cm (0′ 3″)
- Hairy-legged vampire bat with a size of 7.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Woodford’s fruit bat with a size of 8.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Vagrant shrew with a size of 6.4 cm (0′ 3″)
- Ihering’s three-striped opossum with a size of 9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Taiga shrew with a size of 7.5 cm (0′ 3″)
- Malagasy serotine with a size of 8.2 cm (0′ 4″)
- New Guinean planigale with a size of 7.7 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Honey possum
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (2) as a Honey possum:
- Rock hyrax
- African civet
- Savi’s pipistrelle
- Mediterranean pine vole
- European pine vole
- Giant otter shrew
- Long-nosed bandicoot
- Greater bilby
- Northern palm squirrel
- Lesser bilby
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Honey possum
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Honey possum:
- Norway lemming with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Malabar spiny dormouse with an average maximal age of 1.67 years
- Müller’s giant Sunda rat with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Dusky antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- White-eared opossum with an average maximal age of 1.67 years
- Southern Plains woodrat with an average maximal age of 2.25 years
- Grant’s golden mole with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Cinnamon antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Common yellow-toothed cavy with an average maximal age of 1.75 years
- Silky anteater with an average maximal age of 2.25 years
Animals with the same weight as a Honey possum
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Tarsipes rostratus:
- Pygmy gerbil bringing 8 grams to the scale
- Smaller horseshoe bat bringing 10 grams to the scale
- Savanna shrew bringing 10 grams to the scale
- Toad mouse bringing 8 grams to the scale
- Bates’s slit-faced bat bringing 10 grams to the scale
- Little broad-nosed bat bringing 10 grams to the scale
- Seminole bat bringing 9 grams to the scale
- Arcuate horseshoe bat bringing 8 grams to the scale
- Damara woolly bat bringing 10 grams to the scale
- Triaenops rufus bringing 9 grams to the scale