Creator Gould's Mammals of Australia (1845-1863)

Date 1863

The sooty or brown brushtail possum is endemic to Tasmania, and is a darker supspecies of of the common brushtail possum. It is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Australia. The brushtail possum it the marsupial most often seen by city dwellers, as it is one of few that thrive in cities and a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. Around human habitations, common brushtails are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and kitchen raids. Once hunted extensively for their fur. (wiki)..The subspecies T.v. fuliginosus, which is found in Tasmania, has black coat coloration. Gould called it 'Phalangista fuliginosa'.

Source: Smithsonian Library