Visual discrimination in the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)

Little behavioural research on the perceptual abilities of the brushtail possum exists. In a pilot study six possums were trained to perform a conditional discrimination between flickering and steady lights maintained by access to a mixture of steam-flaked barley and carob. The results of this pilot study showed that over successive testing, the possums came to respond accurately at all flicker speeds suggesting control by the average luminance level of the stimulus, The current experiment equalised the luminance of the stimuli and repeated the threshold determination. These data suggest that the critical flicker fusion frequency of the possum is 22.4 Hz at an average luminance of 2.2 log cd/m(2). It is concluded that a critical flicker fusion frequency of 22.4 Hz is lower than that found for cats using a similar procedure and luminance.