What is the difference between a possum and an opossum?

Or is there a difference? Is possum just the wrong spelling or are there actually two different animals? Are they related? Just curious! ^_^What is the difference between a possum and an opossum?
Possums are arboreal marsupials found in Australia,New Zealand, etc while the (Virginia)Opossums are marsupials found in Central and North America.


Virginia Opossum:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Op鈥?/a>


Possum:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PossumWhat is the difference between a possum and an opossum?
Possums are Australian animals of the sub-order Phalangeriformes..


Opossums are in the Western Hemisphere and are of the order Didelphimorphia.


Both are marsupials. There are various species of both possums and opossums; they are arboreal or semi-arboreal and omnivorous.
Birdgirl is correct,and to clarify, these are two different species.


the possum,and the opossum are not the same animal.


both are however, marsupials.
possum= 4 legged critter from Arkansas


opossum= 4 legged critter from Ireland
Spelling. It's just dialect. It's like saying soda and pop.