Short-eared possum
Trichosurus caninus (Ogilby, 1835)
The short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus) is a species in the family Phalangeridae, order Diprotodontia. Recorded adults weigh 3.12 kg to 3.5 kg and live up to 17 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the short-eared possum
- Weight
- 3.12 kg – 3.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 17 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 16.2 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.02src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the short-eared possum
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the short-eared possum live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The short-eared possum is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the short-eared possum?
The short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus) is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae, endemic to Australia. Found north of Sydney, New South Wales, on Australia's eastern coast, the species was once classed under the mountain brushtail possum, its closest relative.
In the wild, they can live for up to 17 years (possibly longer in captivity), maintain a stable territory, and invest significant energy and time rearing their young.
Short-eared possums are most commonly found along the southeastern coast of the Australian continent, where they reside in wet rainforests and humid, dense thickets.
From the Wikipedia article “Short-eared possum” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Short-eared_possum&oldid=1384006471), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the short-eared possum endangered?
The short-eared possum is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the short-eared possum classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderDiprotodontia
- familyPhalangeridae
- genusTrichosurus
- SpeciesTrichosurus caninus (Ogilby, 1835)
Synonyms Phalangista canina
Other names and names in other languages (23)
- BobuckEnglish
- Mountain brushtail possumEnglish
- Mountain brushtail possumEnglish
- Northern bobuckEnglish
- Northern bobuckEnglish
- Short-eared brush-tailed possumEnglish
- Short-eared brushtail possumEnglish
- Short-eared brushtail possumEnglish
- أبوسوم ذيل الفرشاة قصير الأذنينArabic
- kusu krátkouchýCzech
- HundskusuGerman
- Κοντόωτο ΟπόσουμGreek
- Cuscús de Cola de Cepillo de Orejas CortasSpanish
- koirakusuFinnish
- Phalanger de montagneFrench
- コミミフクロギツネJapanese
- BobokNorwegian Bokmål
- FjellpungrevNorwegian Bokmål
- HondkoeskoesDutch
- Pałanka bobukPolish
- kitanka drobnouchaPolish
- Possum-de-Orelhas-curtasPortuguese
- Собачий кузуRussian
Relatives of the short-eared possum
Other species in the same genus Trichosurus.
Common brushtail possum
Trichosurus vulpecula
Mountain brushtail possum
Trichosurus cunninghami
Coppery brushtail possum
Trichosurus johnstonii
CompareShort-eared possum vs Common brushtail possumShort-eared possum vs Mountain brushtail possumShort-eared possum vs Coppery brushtail possumShort-eared possum vs Trichosurus abnerrangemassacre
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the short-eared possum?
An adult short-eared possum weighs 3.12 kg – 3.5 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the short-eared possum live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the short-eared possum for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the short-eared possum endangered?
The short-eared possum is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the short-eared possum live?
The short-eared possum has a recorded lifespan of 17 years.
How long is the short-eared possum pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 16.2 days.
What kind of animal is the short-eared possum?
The short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus) belongs to the family Phalangeridae in the order Diprotodontia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-eared-possum
“Short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-eared-possum.
@misc{short_eared_possum_2026,
title = {Short-eared possum (Trichosurus caninus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/short-eared-possum},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}