Re: Possums (A Challenge)

[zbbrox@aol.com]

"Nobody seems to have mentioned that 'possums play dead as a defense 
against
predators instead of running away from them.  Or is this just an urban 
myth
devised to confuse Colorado-bound people like me who have never actually
seen one of these creatures?"

If I remember correctly, possums don't actually play dead, they more 
pass out in fear. Yes, that officially earns them the title of "biggest 
wimp in the animal kingdom."

"Maybe it helps add to the unappealing, diseased
animal illusion."

I've seen a few possums in my time, and that isn't, in fact, an 
illusion. Possums are among the ugliest vertebrates I've ever been 
exposed to. Even their babies aren't cute, it's quite remarkable.

-----Original Message-----
From: Swift Claw <missraptor@deadraccoon.com>
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Sent: Thu, 05 May 2005 13:53:00 -0600
Subject: Re: Possums (A Challenge)

  on 5/3/05 2:51 PM, T. Michael Keesey at keesey@gmail.com wrote:

> On 5/3/05, don ohmes <d_ohmes@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > They are prolific, omnivorous and adapt well to urban
> > environments. That explains how they survive in their
> > present form, but does it explain why they don't
> > "improve", particularly relative to locomotion? They
> > don't climb well, run well, or even walk well relative
> > to other mammals. Granted, it is not possible for
> > selection to change a trait w/ zero variance, and the
> > difference between a fast and a slow possum may be
> > effectively zero relative to predator speed. But do
> > cast-iron stomachs and prolificity somehow mean
> > locomotive competence is disadvantageous? Even possums
> > have to compete for food.
>
> Developing greater speed, agility, etc. requires more resources than
> developing stubby little 'possum legs. An opossum with longer legs
> might be able to evade predators or catch prey more successfully than
> other opossums, but it would also need to eat somewhat more to
> maintain those larger legs. Apparently for opossums (and many many
> other species), this is not an advantageous trade-off. (See for
> yourself--they're doing just fine.)

Nobody seems to have mentioned that 'possums play dead as a defense 
against
predators instead of running away from them.  Or is this just an urban 
myth
devised to confuse Colorado-bound people like me who have never actually
seen one of these creatures?


> > Locomotion in possums could be vastly improved w/out
> > any re-allocation of relative body mass, and IMO, with
> > vast improvements in efficiency. Not longer legs, just
> > better. Possums even wobble when they walk. I have
> > seen apparently healthy, not-in-a-hurry possums fall
> > down trying to cross a dirt road. Observe an inbred
> > German Shepard with moderately severe hip problems, it
> > is the best analogy I know of.

Wow, that _is_ pretty sad.  Maybe it helps add to the unappealing, 
diseased
animal illusion.

~Tiffany Miller
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