phalanger

noun

pha·​lan·​ger fə-ˈlan-jər  ˈfā-ˌlan- 

: any of various small to medium-sized marsupial mammals (family Phalangeridae and related families) of Australia and New Guinea that are chiefly arboreal and nocturnal and that include the possums (see possum sense 2) and cuscuses

Well-developed prehensile tails, large and strong claws and a slow, deliberate way of moving have equipped them well for their lives aloft, making the phalangers the marsupial equivalent of monkeys, sloths and squirrels.

—John Vandenbeld

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek phalang-, phalanx

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above