#trichosurus vulpecula

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

[hasellia]

I need a heist movie featuring these two.

[rattyexplores]

Brushtail possums caught as part of the Woppa survey assessment. Both female, the first specimen looked like it had spent about a year on its own. The second specimen was much older.

*Animals were unharmed, and released upon capture

12/09/23 - Trichosurus vulpecula

QLD:CQC, Woppa (Great Keppel Island), dry woodland

[oh-dear-so-queer]

In another marsupial, the Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), intersexuality or hermaphroditism occasionally occurs: one individual, for example, had male body proportions, coloring, and genitals combined with mammary glands and a pouch.

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl

[thecreatureawaits]

Creature Awaits #198

Each week I plan to feature an amazing creature, admiring God's fantastic artistry.  Hopefully it’ll brighten someone’s day to see something new and interesting if they haven’t seen it before. : )

(Adorable photograph provided by the photographers of the Brisbane City Council (CC BY 2.0))

The Common Brushtail Possum

Scientific Name: Trichosurus vulpecula

Region: The six subspecies each inhabit various territories across Australia, with the largest ranges along the northern and eastern edges

Size: About 12 1/2"-23" (~32cm–58cm) long from head through body, with a roughly 9 1/2"-16" (~24–40 cm) long tail

Interesting Notes:  This adorable marsupial's scientific name combines the Greek "Trichosurus", meaning "furry tailed" (given to brushtail possums) with the Latin "vulpecula", meaning "little fox". This particular species is perhaps most famous for its appearance in the amazing 1988 fantasy adventure film, "Willow".

[skydarcyedwards]

Sometimes photographing wildlife requires a long lens. Sometimes a 35mm macro is fine.

Brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula.

Sky Edwards

2023

Canon R7

Canon EF 35mm macro IS STM

[ningauinerd]

A collection of possum species from my June 2023 roadtrip through NSW, the ACT and south-east Queensland

Krefft's Glider (Petaurus notatus) - Black Mountain Nature Reserve, ACT

Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) - Cotter Campground, ACT

Broad-toed Feathertail Glider (Acrobates frontalis) - Warrumbungle National Park, NSW

Short-eared Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus caninus) - Lamington National Park, QLD

Southern Greater Glider (Petauroides volans) - Barrington Tops National Park, NSW

Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) - Myall Lakes National Park, NSW

Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis) - Murramarang National Park, NSW

Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) - Murramarang National Park, NSW

[nasze-zd]

W sprawie rzekomych oposów

Muszę się przyznać, że od roku oszukuję czytelników twierdząc, jakoby w Nowej Zelandii panoszyły się oposy. Nie jest to prawda i odszczekuję te słowa, a wszystkie wcześniejsze wzmianki o rzekomych oposach zamieniłem już na właściwe.

Nowa Zelandia walczy za to z plagą kitanek lisich, zwanych też lisami workowatymi, torbaczami sprowadzonymi w XIX wieku z Australii. W ciągu stu lat rozprzestrzeniły się one na całym obszarze wysp Północnej, Południowej i Stewarta, z wyjątkiem terenów wysokogórskich. Pod nieobecność naturalnych drapieżników mogących kontrolować ich liczbę, jedynym czynnikiem ograniczającym jest dla nich dostępność pożywienia — a te znalazły w postaci liści rodzimych gatunków drzew. Jej łupem padły głównie northern rata (metrosideros robusta), endemiczne nowozelandzkie drzewa-dusiciele, będące obecnie gatunkiem zagrożonym.

Pisałem wcześniej o pułapkach na te zwierzęta i próbach ograniczenia liczebności ich populacji. Odławia je nie tylko Department of Conservation, ale indywidualni myśliwi (na skóry) oraz farmerzy. Ci ostatni przede wszystkim dlatego, że kitanki przenoszą wirusa gruźlicy bydlęcej i w związku z tym zagrażają zdrowiu stad.

Kitanka lisia (łac. Trichosurus vulpecula) to po angielsku possum, i jak wspomniałem, pochodzi z Australii. Opos zaś to po angielsku opossum i pochodzi z Ameryki. Żeby jeszcze bardziej zamieszać, to w USA czasem mówią na lokalne oposy: possum, ale to na pewno nie te australijsko-nowozelandzkie. Stąd też moja pomyłka.

Niestety nie mam własnego zdjęcia kitanki. Jest to zwierzę nocne, a rzadko w nocy bywam w lesie. A jak bywam, to i tak niewiele widzę; posłużę się więc zdjęciem z Wikipedii.

Kitanka lisia, CC-BY-SA-2.5, J.J. Harrison, Wikipedia

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

what is your favorite animal, frank?

the Trichosurus vulpecula (spotted quoll)

[jessiesjaded]

Very high res images of Trichosurus Vulpecula (its an australian possum)

[glowinthedark-starstickers]

If I share a morbid memory of my youth, you guys can't be mad at me:

In new zealand, one of the biggest threats to our native wildlife are possums (Trichosurus vulpecula). In rural communities there are often big pushes to try to eradicate them. At my small rural primary school, we would have possum hunting competitions. You would have a month to catch as many possums as you possibly could (via hunting, trapping etc), and there would be prizes for the most caught. There were also bonus prizes for the heaviest, and for (this is the morbid part) the farthest possum fling. This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

After the competition, a local would skin them and sell the fur, then the funds would be put back into benefiting the school.

I know people tend to care about mammals more than insects, so the idea of this might be upsetting to some, but they truly are such a blight to our native flora and fauna.

Anyway, fuck invasive species!

[xtruss]

100-Foot 'Walking Tree' In New Zealand Looks Like An Ent from Lord Of The Rings — And Is The Lone Survivor Of A Lost Forest

An Unusual Northern Rātā Tree that looks like it is striding across an empty field has been Crowned New Zealand's Tree of the Year. The Giant Plant, which looks strikingly similar to an Ent from "The Lord of the Rings," is Centuries old.

— By Harry Baker | June 5, 2024

The "Walking Tree" is a Northern Rātā (Metrosideros Robusta). It is more than 100 Feet Tall and at least 150 Years Old. Image Credit: Gareth Andrews

A bizarre, giant tree with a pair of leg-like trunks looks like an Ent from "The Lord of the Rings" — and it has just been crowned New Zealand's Tree of the Year after strolling past the rest of the competition.

The strange tree, which has been nicknamed the "Walking Tree" because it looks like it's striding across a field, is a northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta) — one of New Zealand's tallest flowering tree species that can live for up to 1,000 years. It's roots and long, arm-like branches make the tree look like an Ent — a fictional race of tree-like creatures that guard the forests of Middle-earth.

The tree stands alone in the middle of a large paddock next to a cemetery near Karamea on the west coast of South Island. It is around 105 Feet (32 Meters) Tall — around the same height as a seven-story building, according to The New Zealand Tree Register.

The walking tree was the clear winner of the 2024 edition of the New Zealand Arboricultural Association's (NZ Arb) Tree of the Year award, walking away with 42% of the public vote, which included five other finalists, according to a statement emailed to Live Science.

"It just strode out into the lead right from the very start," competition organizer Brad Cadwallader told Radio New Zealand.

The walking tree is an "Exceptional Feature" and a "prime example of the remarkable trees that we, as New Zealanders, are fortunate to experience," NZ Arb President Richie Hill said in the statement.

A tall tree with a pair of thick leg-like roots that make it look like the tree is walking. Image Credit: Gareth Andrews

It is unclear exactly how old the walking tree is, but award organizers noted it is the lone survivor of a forest that was cleared around 150 years ago. "The farming family back then clearly thought it was special because they left it," Cadwallader said.

Northern Rātā Trees Are Epiphytes — a type of tree that starts life growing on the surface of a host tree before growing aerial roots that eventually reach the ground. The walking tree likely began life high up in the canopy of its host, living off air and rainwater before reaching the ground. Its unusual root layout was likely caused by how it grew around its host tree, which probably died off centuries ago.

"That host tree has now gone," Cadwallader said. "Maybe the tree was either very, very big, or there may have been another tree that fell and lent against the host tree, and that's why the roots have split near the ground and given it that walking appearance."

Northern Rātā Trees bloom bright red flowers between November and January. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Northern Rātā Trees are endemic to New Zealand and were once one of the most common species in the country's forests. However, their range has decreased over the last few decades and they are now listed as nationally vulnerable, according to the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.

In addition to deforestation, the main threats to northern rātā are the invasive common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), which destroy the trees by eating their leaves and gnawing at their roots.

The trees are also threatened by hybridization with the closely related Pōhutukawa Trees (Metrosideros Excelsa) and are susceptible to Myrtle Rust (Austropuccinia Psidii) — a Pathogenic Fungi native to South America that was detected in New Zealand for the first time in 2017.

[life-around-me-yura15cbx]

The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox".

Class:Mammalia

Infraclass:Marsupialia

Order:Diprotodontia

Family:Phalangeridae

Genus:Trichosurus

widespread in New Zealand since its introduction in 1850. In New Zealand, possums favour broadleaf-podocarp near farmland pastures.

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[animalids]

Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

Photo by Alan Cressler

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Common brushtail possum - Trichosurus vulpecula

Cradle Mountain, Tasmania

Photographer: Charles Davis

[terranlifeform]