phalanger

American  

[fuh-lan-jer] / fəˈlæn dʒər /

noun

1. any of numerous arboreal marsupials of the family Phalangeridae, of Australia, having foxlike ears and a long, bushy tail.

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phalanger British  

/ fəˈlændʒə /

noun

1. Also called (Austral. and NZ): possum.  any of various Australasian arboreal marsupials, such as Trichosurus vulpecula ( brush-tailed phalanger ), having dense fur and a long tail: family Phalangeridae See also flying phalanger

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Etymology

Origin of phalanger

First recorded in 1765–75; from French (Buffon) or from New Latin (1780), from Greek phalang-, stem of phálanx + New Latin -er, of unclear origin; the name refers to the syndactylous 2nd and 3rd digits of the hind feet; see phalanx

Example Sentences

And, Loeb, see if he can pick up a bandicoot or a phalanger.

From Time Magazine Archive

The vulpine phalanger does duty for a fox; the fat and sleepy little dormouse phalanger takes the place of a European dormouse.

From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant

It was a female, and though not exactly of the same species, much resembled the remarkable animal which Mons. de Buffon hath described by the name of phalanger.

From Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, Performed by Captain James Cook : with an Account of His Life During the Previous and Intervening Periods by Kippis, Andrew

At Rawak the phalanger and the sheepdog in a wild state were the only quadrupeds met with.

From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century by D'Anvers, N.

There is also the flying phalanger," observed my friend; "an animal of the marsupial order, which is a native of Australia, and somewhat resembles the opossum.

From Adventures of a Young Naturalist by Gillmore, Parker