| Revision as of 17:26, 30 July 2004 edit172.199.162.168 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 04:52, 21 August 2021 edit undoMalnadachBot (talk | contribs)11,637,095 editsm Fixed Lint errors in signatures. (Task 2)Tag: AWB | ||
| (30 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ==Explanation== | |||
| ] | |||
| This is old page history that used to be at the title "opossum". ''']'''] 15:59, 20 December 2009 (UTC) | |||
| The word '''opossum''' (usually pronounced without the leading 'O', or with only a very slight ]) refers either to the ] in particular, or more generally to any of the other ] of ] ]. Opossums are the only marsupials in North America. | |||
| The name is from ] ''wapathemwa'', not ] or ], so the plural is ''opossums'', not ''opossa''. | |||
| Opossums are about a foot long and resemble large, fat, rats. Their coats are a dull grayish brown, other than on their faces, which are white. Some characteristics of opossums are their hairless tails, 50 teeth (most among land mammals), and opposable thumbs on their rear limbs. Though some humans are fond of them, many consider them to be rather ugly. | |||
| A wild opossum's diet includes bugs (including cockroaches), snails, mice and rats, but, like ], opposums can be found in urban environments, where they eat pet food, rotten fruit, and various human garbage. Opossums are nocturnal. | |||
| Opossums in captivity are known to engage in canibalism, though this is probably uncommon in the wild. | |||
| The ] is noted for its reaction to threat, which is to feign death. From this behavior comes the phrase "playing (o)possum". This behavior should not be taken as an indication of docility, for under serious threat, an opossum will respond ferociously. While "playing possum", the opossum actually enters a near coma. It lies on its side, mouth open, tongue hanging out, with green fluid emitting from its anus. It is believed that the opossum has evolved this behavior to ward off predators, which often aren't interested in consuming prey which are already dead. | |||
| Though ''opossum'' is often pronounced, and even spelled ''possum'', the latter word actually refers to various distantly related but broadly similar ]s of magnorder ], that are native to ] and are an introduced pest in ]. See ]. | |||
| See also: ] | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
Latest revision as of 04:52, 21 August 2021
Explanation
This is old page history that used to be at the title "opossum". Graham87 15:59, 20 December 2009 (UTC)