In most species the fur is dense, soft, and woolly. In both subgenera the prehensile tail may be nearly as long as the head and body, and its distal end usually is bare for some length on the undersurface and only sparsely haired on the upper surface. In most species the upper parts of the body are gray or brown, often very dark, and the underparts are white, yellowish, or almost as dark as the back. Some species have mottlings of white and a ventral surface the same color as the back. Some have dark and light stripes on the head, a median stripe on the back, or stripes around the thighs.
Several species have a white-tipped tail, and some have a dark band around the middle of the tail.
In P. archeri the pelage has a golden green hue. In P. dahli the basic gray color is suffused with rufous and the rump is brighter rufous. In most species the prehensile end of the long and tapered tail is usually curled into a ring, hence the common name of these possums. Except in P. dahli, the first two digits of the forefoot are opposable to the other three digits. In P. dahli the claws are reduced and blunt.