This adorable little snoot-creature is a Mouse Opossum.

Small enough to fit in your hand, these miniature marsupials are ridiculously easy to photograph due to a remarkable evolutionary quirk. Mouse Opossums (and indeed all opossums) are known for their unique ability to ‘play possum’. When threatened, opossums attempt to deter potential predators by pretending to be dead – their bodies stiffen, and they sometimes even release a foul-smelling odour. It’s a strategy known as defensive thanatosis, and incredibly, it’s a completely involuntary physiological response that the opossum has no control over.

Now, let’s talk about the difference between possums and opossums. While both animals are marsupials, the term opossum typically refers to members of the order Didelphimorphia, found only in the Americas. Possums on the other hand, which are named due to their resemblance to American opossums, belong to the suborder Phalangeriformes and are only found in Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi. Despite looking like their American counterparts, possums are in fact much more closely related to other Australian marsupials, such as kangaroos and koalas.

To make matters even more confusing, Americans often refer to their native opossums as possums, and worse still, only opossums are known to ‘play possum’ – possums don’t do this at all.

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Mouse Opossum (Marmosa sp.), Manu Biological Station, Peru