This genus once was usually placed in the family Phalangeridae. The head is pale brown, and the body is grayish brown with three dark stripes along the back. The underparts are pale yellowish or white, the limbs are pale rufous, and the feet are white.
Some individuals are more grayish, but the stripes are always present.
The fur is rather coarse, short, and close. The long whiplike tail is almost hairless and has a naked prehensile undertip. This possum can be distinguished from the other small Australian marsupials by its coloration and by its extremely long snout, which is about two-thirds of the length of the rest of the head. The tongue is long and bristled at the tip and can be extended for about 25 mm beyond the nose. Ridges on the hard palate scrape honey and pollen off the tongue when it is withdrawn through a channel formed by flanges on the upper and lower lips, assisted by the long, slender lower incisors.