Meanings
plural brushtail possums · alternative brush-tailed possum
- Any nocturnal, arboreal, Australian possum of the genus Trichosurus, having a furred tail with a naked tip.
A brush-tailed possum wanders close, and with his rifle scope he traces its outline […] .
1999, Julia Leigh, The Hunter, Faber & Faber 2012, p. 672 more examples
The southerly caught the tree and tipped it. It fell with a crash, pinning a large brush-tailed possum to the ground.
1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber, published 2003, page 56There are 22 species in the family, the commonest being the brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula (Fig. 7.5d, Plates 12 and 13), in Australia and the northern common cuscus, Phalanger orientalis, in New Guinea.
2005, Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe, Life of Marsupials, page 229Synonyms: brushtail
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny nocturnal, arboreal, Australian possum of the genus Trichosurus, having a furred tail with a naked tip.
Origin
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 刷尾負鼠 /刷尾负鼠
- 刷尾負鼠 /刷尾负鼠 (shuāwěi fùshǔ)Trichosurus vulpecula
Finnish kettukusu
- kettukusuTrichosurus vulpecula
French phalanger-renard, phalanger vulpin
- phalanger-renardTrichosurus vulpecula
- phalanger vulpinTrichosurus vulpecula
Māori paihamu
- paihamuTrichosurus vulpecula
Polish kitanka
- kitankaTrichosurus vulpecula
Russian кузу́, щёткохво́ст
- кузу́ (kuzú)Trichosurus vulpecula
- щёткохво́ст (ščotkoxvóst)Trichosurus vulpecula
- щёткохво́стый поссум (ščotkoxvóstyj possum)Trichosurus vulpecula
- кистехво́стый куску́с (kistexvóstyj kuskús)Trichosurus vulpecula
Swedish pungräv
- pungrävTrichosurus vulpecula
Turkish tilki kuskusu
- tilki kuskusuTrichosurus vulpecula
Cite this entry
brushtail possum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brushtail%20possum
“brushtail possum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brushtail%20possum. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brushtail possum,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brushtail%20possum.
Source: brushtail possum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.