What’s the Difference? Possum vs. Opossum
www.bobvila.com
Contrary to popular belief, possums and opossums aren't the same animals at all. So what are the differences between them?
  • kbal@fedia.io
    16 days

    opossum: The American one.

    possum: Could refer to either kind of animal.

    Failing to acknowledge that it’s like that in reality will only cause further confusion.

    • [deleted]@piefed.worldEnglish
      16 days

      possum: Could refer to either kind of animal.

      Yeah, in the US calling an opossum a ‘possum’ is just the shortened slang name and everyone know what you are talking about.

    • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      16 days

      Yea, seems like the distinction is a scientific one, not a language one.

      Still interesting, I had no idea.

  • Aniki@feddit.orgEnglish
    16 days

    it would have been wise to label which one is which?

    (left one is opossum, right one is possum)

  • magnetosphere@fedia.io
    16 days

    Until right now I thought they were just different spellings of a word that meant the same thing. Like “color” and “colour”.

    • egrets@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16 days

      They absolutely are, in that the species from America got shortened from “opossum” to “possum” (with both versions still in use), and then the similar-looking Australasian animals were given the same abbreviated name.

  • Dagobah@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16 days

    This article is not a good source.

    1. Possums are not native to China or new Zealand. Australia is correct but they can also be native to New Guinea and parts of Indonesia.
    2. Certain species of possums like the ringtail can have partially hairless tails.
    3. When comparing to Australia’s most common possum (Brushtail, max 4.5kg), the Virginia opossum is bulkier but has roughly the same body length. The largest possum (Bear Cuscus is nearly twice as big)
    4. Sources vary but it’s clear there are significantly more opossum species than possum species.Possums species are much more distinct though.
  • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.spaceEnglish
    16 days

    They’re two completely different species. The one with the O is North American, and the other is Australian. They only got the same name because people are lazy.

    • Aniki@feddit.orgEnglish
      16 days

      they are closely related, both being marsupials. i just read it up on wikipedia

  • podian@piefed.socialEnglish
    16 days

    “course fur”

    Before AI I could just chalk it up to an intern writer or something. Now I don’t know.

  • switcheroo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16 days

    Not happy with all the anti-possum ads on that page. Opossums are beneficial good creatures, just leave em be.

    • tehn00bi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16 days

      They’re practically harmless. Scary as shit if you have one get stuck in you shed, but they do more good than armadillos.

  • quick_snail@feddit.nlEnglish
    16 days

    possums are native to Australia, New Zealand, and China.

    God DAMN they must be good swimmers

    Edit: Occam’s razor. The article is misinformation, and they’re just native in Australia