Pseudocheiridae
Encyclopedia
Pseudocheiridae is a family of arboreal marsupial
s containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possum
s and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia
and New Guinea
.
s, except for their greater size. Even so, they are relatively small animals, with the largest being cat-sized, and they weigh between 200 grams and 2 kilograms. They have grasping hands and feet with opposable first toes on their hindfeet, and, in all species save the Greater Glider
, a prehensile tail
. They are nocturnal, with large eyes.
All species feed almost entirely on leaves. To enable them to digest this tough and fibrous food, they have an enlarged cecum
containing fermenting bacteria, and, like rabbit
s, they are coprophagous, passing food through their digestive tracts twice. Their teeth include a battery of grinding molar
s, and they lack lower canines. Their dental formula is:
Most are solitary animals, although a few live in small family groups, and they are generally shy and secretive, making them difficult to study. They travel across home ranges of up to 3 hectare
s (7.5 acres). Gestation
lasts up to 50 days, but varies depending on species.
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
s containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possum
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
s and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
Characteristics
Physically, they appear very similar to the pygmy possumPygmy possum
The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. There are five extant species of pygmy possum, grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.Pygmy...
s, except for their greater size. Even so, they are relatively small animals, with the largest being cat-sized, and they weigh between 200 grams and 2 kilograms. They have grasping hands and feet with opposable first toes on their hindfeet, and, in all species save the Greater Glider
Greater Glider
The Greater Glider is a small gliding marsupial found in Australia. It is not closely related to the Petaurus group of gliding marsupials but instead to the Lemur-like Ringtail Possum , with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae.The Greater Glider is nocturnal and is a solitary herbivore...
, a prehensile tail
Prehensile tail
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to be able to grasp and/or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees...
. They are nocturnal, with large eyes.
All species feed almost entirely on leaves. To enable them to digest this tough and fibrous food, they have an enlarged cecum
Cecum
The cecum or caecum is a pouch, connecting the ileum with the ascending colon of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum by the ileocecal valve or Bauhin's valve, and is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is also separated from the colon by the cecocolic...
containing fermenting bacteria, and, like rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, they are coprophagous, passing food through their digestive tracts twice. Their teeth include a battery of grinding molar
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
s, and they lack lower canines. Their dental formula is:
Most are solitary animals, although a few live in small family groups, and they are generally shy and secretive, making them difficult to study. They travel across home ranges of up to 3 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (7.5 acres). Gestation
Gestation
Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
lasts up to 50 days, but varies depending on species.
Classification
The 17 species of pseudocheirid possum are grouped into three subfamilies and six genera.- †Pildra
- †Paljara
- †Marlu
- †Pseudokoala
- Subfamily Hemibelideinae
- Genus Hemibelideus
- Lemur-like Ringtail PossumLemur-like Ringtail PossumThe Lemur-like Ringtail Possum , also known as the Lemuroid Ringtail Possum or the Brushy-Tailed Ringtail, is one of the most singular members of the ringtail possum group...
, Hemibelideus lemuroides
- Lemur-like Ringtail Possum
- Genus Petauroides
- Greater GliderGreater GliderThe Greater Glider is a small gliding marsupial found in Australia. It is not closely related to the Petaurus group of gliding marsupials but instead to the Lemur-like Ringtail Possum , with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae.The Greater Glider is nocturnal and is a solitary herbivore...
, Petauroides volans
- Greater Glider
- Genus Hemibelideus
- Subfamily Pseudocheirinae
- Genus Petropseudes
- Rock-haunting Ringtail PossumRock-haunting Ringtail PossumThe Rock-haunting Ringtail Possum , also known as the Rock Ringtail Possum, is a species of Australian possum. It is found in rocky escarpments in the Kimberley, Arnhem Land and Gulf of Carpentaria across Western Australia and Northern Territory and just passing the Queensland border. It is also...
, Petropseudes dahli
- Rock-haunting Ringtail Possum
- Genus PseudocheirusPseudocheirusPseudocheirus is a genus of ringtail possums . It includes a single living species, the Common Ringtail Possum of Australia, as well as the fossil Pseudocheirus marshalli from the Pliocene of Victoria.Other species have previously been included in this genus...
- Common Ringtail PossumCommon Ringtail PossumThe common ringtail possum is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers and fruits. These dietary factors have, over time, aided burgeoning introduced populations in New Zealand...
, Pseudocheirus peregrinus
- Common Ringtail Possum
- Genus PseudochirulusPseudochirulusPseudochirulus is a genus of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.It contains the following species:*Lowland Ringtail Possum, Pseudochirulus canescens...
- Lowland Ringtail PossumLowland Ringtail PossumThe Lowland Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, Pseudochirulus canescens - Weyland Ringtail PossumWeyland Ringtail PossumThe Weyland Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is endemic to the western Central Cordillera of Papua Province, Indonesia....
, Pseudochirulus caroli - Cinereus Ringtail PossumCinereus Ringtail PossumThe Cinereus Ringtail Possum , also known as the Daintree River Ringtail Possum, is a species of possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It was long believed to be the same as the Herbert River Ringtail Possum , but has recently been separated...
, Pseudochirulus cinereus - Painted Ringtail PossumPainted Ringtail PossumThe Painted Ringtail Possum or Moss-forest Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, Pseudochirulus forbesi - Herbert River Ringtail PossumHerbert River Ringtail PossumThe Herbert River Ringtail Possum is a species of possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It a dark brown to black species, sometimes with a white belly....
, Pseudochirulus herbertensis - Masked Ringtail PossumMasked Ringtail PossumThe Masked Ringtail Possum, Pseudochirulus larvatus, is a marsupial possum of the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in northeastern New Guinea in the Star Mountains. the eastern Central Cordillera, the Huon Peninsula and the northern coast ranges. Masked Ringtails are arboreal residents of...
, Pseudochirulus larvatus - Pygmy Ringtail PossumPygmy Ringtail PossumThe Pygmy Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.-External links:*...
, Pseudochirulus mayeri - Vogelkop Ringtail PossumVogelkop Ringtail PossumThe Vogelkop Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is endemic to the Vogelkop Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss....
, Pseudochirulus schlegeli
- Lowland Ringtail Possum
- Genus Petropseudes
- Subfamily Pseudochiropinae
- Genus PseudochiropsPseudochiropsPseudochirops is a genus of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family.It contains the following species:*D'Albertis' Ringtail Possum, Pseudochirops albertisii*Green Ringtail Possum, Pseudochirops archeri...
- D'Albertis' Ringtail PossumD'Albertis' Ringtail PossumD'Albertis' Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests....
, Pseudochirops albertisii - Green Ringtail PossumGreen Ringtail PossumThe Green Ringtail Possum is a species of ringtail possum found only in northern Australia. This makes it unique in its genus, all other members of which are found in New Guinea or nearby islands...
, Pseudochirops archeri - Plush-coated Ringtail PossumPlush-coated Ringtail PossumThe Plush-coated Ringtail Possum or Golden Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests....
, Pseudochirops corinnae - Reclusive Ringtail PossumReclusive Ringtail PossumThe Reclusive Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is endemic to the Arfak Mountains in the Vogelkop Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia....
, Pseudochirops coronatus - Coppery Ringtail PossumCoppery Ringtail PossumThe Coppery Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, Pseudochirops cupreus - †P. winteri
- D'Albertis' Ringtail Possum
- Genus Pseudochirops