phalanger n 1: small furry Australian arboreal marsupials having long usually prehensile tails [syn: {phalanger}, {opossum}, {possum}]
Phalanger \Pha*lan"ger\, n. [Cf. F. phalanger. See {Phalanx}.] (Zool.) Any marsupial belonging to {Phalangista}, {Cuscus}, {Petaurus}, and other genera of the family {Phalangistid[ae]}. They are arboreal, and the species of {Petaurus} are furnished with lateral parachutes. See {Flying phalanger}, under {Flying}. [1913 Webster]