Phalangeriformes/fəˈlændʒərɪfɔːrmiːz/ is a paraphyletic[1] suborder of about 70 species of small to medium-sized arborealmarsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi.[2] The species are commonly known as possums, opossums,[3]gliders, and cuscus. The common name "(o)possum" for various Phalangeriformes species derives from the creatures' resemblance to the opossums of the Americas (the term comes from Powhatan languageaposoum "white animal", from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔɬemwa "white dog").[4] However, although opossums are also marsupials, Australasian possums are more closely related to other Australasian marsupials such as kangaroos.
About two-thirds of Australian marsupials belong to the orderDiprotodontia, which is split into three suborders, namely the Vombatiformes (wombats and the koala, four species in total); the large and diverse Phalangeriformes (the possums and gliders) and Macropodiformes (kangaroos, potoroos, wallabies and the musky rat-kangaroo). Note: this classification is based on Ruedas & Morales 2005.[clarification needed] However, Phalangeriformes has been recovered as paraphyletic with respect to Macropodiformes, rendering the latter a subset of the former if Phalangeriformes are to be considered a natural group.[5][6]
Suborder Phalangeriformes: possums, gliders and allies
^Siebert, Frank T. Jr. (1975). "Resurrecting Virginia Algonquian from the Dead: The Reconstituted and Historical Phonology of Powhatan". In Crawford, James Mack (ed.). Studies in Southeastern Indian Languages. University of Georgia Press.
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