Eastern Ring-tailed Possum

The common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus, Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. The possum lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers, fruits and sap. It also consumes caecotropes, which are material fermented in the caecum and expelled during the daytime when it is resting in a nest. This behaviour is called caecotrophy and is similar to that seen in rabbits. The possum carries its young in a pouch, where it develops for 120–130 days before leaving. They are affected by land clearing, which destroys their habitat. The red fox is an introduced invasive species and predator that negatively impacts the possum. == Taxonomy == The common ringtail possum is currently classified as one of the two living species in the genus Pseudocheirus; the species of Pseudochirulus and other ringtail genera were formerly also classified in Pseudocheirus. Several subspecies have been described: Pseudocheirus peregrinus pereginus, the type subspecies based on a collection made at Endeavour River Pseudocheirus peregrinus convolutor, (Eastern ringtail possum or Southeastern ringtail possum) Pseudocheirus peregrinus pulcher, (Rufous ringtail possum) Pseudocheirus occidentalis (Ngwayir, or the Western…