Pseudocheirus
Encyclopedia
Pseudocheirus is a genus of ringtail possums (family Pseudocheiridae). It includes a single living species, the Common Ringtail Possum
(Pseudocheirus peregrinus) of Australia, as well as the fossil Pseudocheirus marshalli from the Pliocene
of Victoria.
Other species have previously been included in this genus. Most other ringtails—the Lemur-like Ringtail (Hemibelideus lemuroides), the Rock-haunting Ringtail (Petropseudes dahli), and the various species of Pseudochirulus
and Pseudochirops
—were classified in Pseudocheirus until the 1980s or 1990s. A second ringtail from the Victorian Pliocene, Petauroides stirtoni, was originally named as a Pseudocheirus, but is now considered to be more closely related to the Greater Glider
(Petauroides volans).
Taxonomic opinion favours treatment of the western population, Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis, as a separate species (Pseudocheirus occidentalis), though the contradictory evidence from current studies have prevented this recommendation being published.
Common Ringtail Possum
The 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) of Australia, as well as the fossil Pseudocheirus marshalli from the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
of Victoria.
Other species have previously been included in this genus. Most other ringtails—the Lemur-like Ringtail (Hemibelideus lemuroides), the Rock-haunting Ringtail (Petropseudes dahli), and the various species of Pseudochirulus
Pseudochirulus
Pseudochirulus 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...
and Pseudochirops
Pseudochirops
Pseudochirops 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...
—were classified in Pseudocheirus until the 1980s or 1990s. A second ringtail from the Victorian Pliocene, Petauroides stirtoni, was originally named as a Pseudocheirus, but is now considered to be more closely related to 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...
(Petauroides volans).
Taxonomic opinion favours treatment of the western population, Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis, as a separate species (Pseudocheirus occidentalis), though the contradictory evidence from current studies have prevented this recommendation being published.
Literature cited
- Groves, C.P. 2005. Order Diprotodontia. Pp. 43–70 in Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols., 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0
- Turnbull, W.D., Lundelius, E.R., Jr. and Archer, M. 2003. Dasyurids, perameloids, phalangeroids, and vombatoids from the Early Pliocene Hamilton Fauna, Victoria, Australia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279:513–540.