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Animal Age

How old does a Common brushtail possum get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Common brushtail possum reaches?

An adult Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) usually gets as old as 14.67 years.

Common brushtail possums are around 17 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 29.62 kg (65.3 lbs) and measure 12.5 cm (0′ 5″). As a member of the Phalangeridae family (genus: Trichosurus), a Common brushtail possum caries out around 1 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 1 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 47.4 cm (1′ 7″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Common brushtail possum gets as old as 14.67 years

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

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Phalangeridae):

Animals that reach the same age as Common brushtail possum

With an average age of 14.67 years, Common brushtail possum are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Common brushtail possum

The same number of babies at once (1) are born by:

Weighting as much as Common brushtail possum

A fully grown Common brushtail possum reaches around 2.69 kg (5.94 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Common brushtail possum

Those animals grow as big as a Common brushtail possum: