cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49317483
TIL the difference between Possums and Opossums
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/possum-vs-opossum/
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/possum-vs-opossum/
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49317483
43 Comments
kbal@fedia.io · 38 pts · 44d
opossum: The American one.
possum: Could refer to either kind of animal.
Failing to acknowledge that it's like that in reality will only cause further confusion.
snooggums@piefed.world · 17 pts · 44d
Yeah, in the US calling an opossum a 'possum' is just the shortened slang name and everyone know what you are talking about.
usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 44d
I like to think they're saying 'possum so there's no confusion when written
caseyweederman@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 44d
No, they're saying "a possum"
SirSamuel@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 44d
They are. You are correct
Gold star
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe · 6 pts · 44d
Yea, seems like the distinction is a scientific one, not a language one.
Still interesting, I had no idea.
gandalf_der_12te@feddit.org · 20 pts · 44d
it would have been wise to label which one is which?
(left one is opossum, right one is possum)
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 44d
Can someone add a banana for size? Because I think one is much bigger than the other
hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 6 pts · 44d
hope this helps
magnetosphere@fedia.io · 15 pts · 44d
Until right now I thought they were just different spellings of a word that meant the same thing. Like “color” and “colour”.
egrets@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 44d
They absolutely are, in that the species from America got shortened from "opossum" to "possum" (with both versions still in use), and then the similar-looking Australasian animals were given the same abbreviated name.
Dagobah@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 44d
This article is not a good source.
wuphysics87@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 44d
Found the possum person
devaly@ani.social · 13 pts · 44d
They are the Oppossite of one another
AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space · 8 pts · 44d
They’re two completely different species. The one with the O is North American, and the other is Australian. They only got the same name because people are lazy.
gandalf_der_12te@feddit.org · 2 pts · 44d
they are closely related, both being marsupials. i just read it up on wikipedia
podian@piefed.social · 8 pts · 44d
"course fur"
Before AI I could just chalk it up to an intern writer or something. Now I don't know.
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 2 pts · 44d
That's fur from school, duh
FenrirIII@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 44d
Chalk it up to the American education system
Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 44d
One has a Japanese honorific prefix and the other does not.
caseyweederman@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 44d
Opassan
gandalf_der_12te@feddit.org · 1 pts · 44d
okay
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 6 pts · 44d
God DAMN they must be good swimmers
Edit: Occam's razor. The article is misinformation, and they're just native in Australia
switcheroo@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 44d
Not happy with all the anti-possum ads on that page. Opossums are beneficial good creatures, just leave em be.
tehn00bi@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 44d
They’re practically harmless. Scary as shit if you have one get stuck in you shed, but they do more good than armadillos.
schwim@piefed.zip · 6 pts · 44d
I had no idea.
9point6@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 44d
O
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org · 4 pts · 44d
Wow. The one is in black and white, the other in color.
gandalf_der_12te@feddit.org · 5 pts · 44d
possums were introduced after the invention of the 3-channel RGB system.
rants_unnecessarily@piefed.social · 2 pts · 44d
MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 44d
One is Irish.
HereIAm@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 44d
Herr's a handy video to explain the difference. Too bad I can never remember anything said.
Nima@leminal.space · 2 pts · 44d
anon6789@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 44d
I just shared some stuff on this tick business today, including some analysis of the erroneous study that started the whole misconception.
Opossums are still awesome, they just aren't tick munchers.
Nima@leminal.space · 4 pts · 44d
went ahead and just deleted my original comment. i got 3 people commenting about it so I'll just say I think they're neat.
anon6789@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 44d
I hope you didn't take it personally! 😮
I just want people to be informed. My story and moreso the linked article I added talks about some of the issues that even positive seeming misinformation can lead to.
Nima@leminal.space · 4 pts · 44d
all good. i got 3 comments all at once so I just figured it was for the best.
anon6789@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 44d
Heck, even I didn't know it was false until I found the post! I'm surprised I saw a couple others mention it. The rumor is really widespread.
We feed ours dried mealworms as part of their diet, so I just assumed they eat whatever bugs.
Nima@leminal.space · 3 pts · 44d
i now know that they don't eat many ticks, I was just excited cause I love opposums and I think they get a fairly bad reputation for being "vermin".
i didn't realize an article about them not eating ticks was posted today. i don't think I'm on the instance that shared that.
i guess that's why all the comments focused on the ticks thing.
i just think they're neat.
anon6789@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 44d
Their poo is out of this world stinky, but otherwise they are very awesome.
I was trying to stick them in a bucket to clean their pen, but they kept grabbing on to the lip with their tails. It was hilarious. I like watching them climb also. They look like they should be bad at it, but they're pretty good.
Awesome critters and no reason anyone should dislike them!
Hydrii@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 44d
I think that the tick thing has ended up being a myth. There's this link I found real quick but I don't remember where I saw it originally.
Nima@leminal.space · 1 pts · 44d
Nomad@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 44d
I read the tick eating thing is an urban legend.
Nima@leminal.space · 2 pts · 44d
comment has been removed. apologies.
angband@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 44d
The main difference is that people commonly refer to opossums as possums, but rarely the other way 'round.