Is there a difference between a possum and an opossum?

i've been told they were the same animal. and told they were different animals.Is there a difference between a possum and an opossum?
They are the same !! North America's only marsupial !!Is there a difference between a possum and an opossum?
I agree with tentofiel, there is a difference. The difference its where they live, one is found in Australia and the other North America.
its the same thing. its actually opossum.
not where i live they are the same
no there is no difference, I guess
same thing in different areas. opossum is the more formal form of the name, where as possum is what most people in rural areas call them.


people say that there is a difference between a cougar and a mountain lion too, same critter, different name.
In the Americas, the words are interchangeable although I think ';opossum'; is more formal. In Australia there are more than twenty species called ';possums'; which include possums, pygmy possums, honey possums, gliders and cuscuses. There are more species on the island of New Guinea. New Zealand also has possums which were introduced from Australia but are now a pest.
';possom'; is just what the rednecks call the oppossum ;-)
possum is slang for opossum. same critter
They're the same. Possum is just a shortened version.
just the O in your spelling, that's it they are the one and the same animal.

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