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| Pygmy possums1 Fossil range: Pleistocene–Recent |
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 Eastern Pygmy Possum (Cercartetus nanus)
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The pygmy possums are species 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 possums range in length from about 50 to 120 millimetres long, and usually weigh between 10 and 50 grams. They are nocturnal and omnivorous, living on a diet of invertebrates, fruit, seed, nectar and pollen. They are excellent climbers, due in part to their possession of a prehensile tail. Although they cannot glide like some other species of possum, some species are able to leap a long distance.2
Conservation International (CI) and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI) reported on the possible discovery of a new species of Cercartetus pygmy possum upon visit to the Foja Mountains in June 2007.3
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Classification
There are two genera of pygmy possums: Burramys and Cercartetus. Burramys contains only one extant species, the Mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus. As currently understood, Cercartetus consists of four extant species.
- Family Burramyidae: pygmy possums
- Genus Burramys
- Mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus
- †Burramys wakefieldi
- †Burramys tridactylus
- †Burramys brutyi
- Genus Cercartetus
- Long-tailed Pygmy Possum, Cercartetus caudatus
- Western Pygmy Possum, Cercartetus concinnus
- Tasmanian Pygmy Possum, Cercartetus lepidus
- Eastern Pygmy Possum, Cercartetus nanus
- Genus Burramys
† = extinct species.
Gallery
 A pygmy possum in NSW, Australia. |
 A pygmy possum in NSW, Australia. |
References
- ^ Groves, C. (2005-11-16). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 44-45. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Turner, Vivienne and McKay, G. M. (1989). "27. Burramyidae", in Walton, D.W. and Richardson, B. J. (eds): Fauna of Australia, Volume 1B: Mammalia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-06056-5.
- ^ Afp.google.com, Two new mammals found in Indonesian 'lost world': green group
External links
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 16 November 2008, at 21:58.
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