Possums Print E-mail
The name 'possum' is a fairly vague and not very scientific term. Other than both being marsupials, the Australian/New Guinea 'Possums' are not closely related to the Neotropical 'Opossums'. In fact, within Australia, the term 'Possum' actually covers a few quite different families of animals.

Although in various groups, there are a few characteristics that unite the different Australasian possums, although these are often consequences of ecology than a reflection of relatedness. All possums are quite aboreal, and many have a strong, usually furry tail with a naked patch of skin underneath which assists with grip.

Possum
Possum
 
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Plants

Cycads
Cycads belong to the division Cycadophyta. They were one of the dominant plant forms back in the Mesozoic, the 'Age of the Dinosaurs', when they would have comprised much of the forest as flowering trees do today. Many species of cycads are toxic, containing the lethal compound macrozamin, (including the species found in the rainforests here), and it has even been suggested that this high toxicity initially evolved in this ancient group to deter predation by dinosaurs.
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Birds

Rails
Rail
Rail
Rails and the other members of this family are small to medium sized birds. Most species resemble chickens in shape and size, but are not related. They are often found around water and have large feet and long toes for distributing and evening out their weight so as they can delicately walking around aquatic vegetation. While some species, such as the Swamphens and Coots are easily habituated, most other species and shy and only occasionally glimpsed.
 

Mammals

Echidna
It has recently been recognized that there are at least 3 species of echidnas. Most of these inhabit the jungles of New Guinea. There is one very widespread species found in Australia. It is an unmistakable animal; about the size of a small cat, it is covered with brown spines, has a long beak-like nose and tiny, squinty eyes. The Echidna walks with a distinctive rolling gait.
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