Pseudocheiridae is a family of

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a ...

s containing 17 extant species of ringtailed

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

Characteristics

Physically, they appear very similar to the pygmy possums, 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 A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp 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. If the t ...

. 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 The cecum or caecum is a pouch within the peritoneum that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix, to which it is joined). The wo ...

containing fermenting bacteria, and, like rabbits, they are

coprophagous Coprophagia () or coprophagy () is the consumption of feces. The word is derived from the grc, κόπρος , "feces" and , "to eat". Coprophagy refers to many kinds of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of ...

, passing food through their digestive tracts twice. Their teeth include a battery of grinding molars, 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 The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s (7.5 acres). Gestation lasts up to 50 days, but varies depending on species.

Classification

The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

(2005), except where th
Mammal Diversity Database
and IUCN agree on a change. The 18 living species of pseudocheirid possum are grouped into three subfamilies and six genera. * †'' Pildra'' * †'' Paljara'' * †'' Marlu'' * †'' Pseudokoala'' * Subfamily Hemibelideinae ** Genus '' Hemibelideus'' ***

Lemur-like ringtail possum The lemuroid ringtail possum (''Hemibelideus lemuroides''), also known as the lemur-like ringtail possum or the brushy-tailed ringtail, is a truly singular member of the ringtail possum group. It was once thought that they were gliding possums ( ...

, ''Hemibelideus lemuroides'' ** Genus '' Petauroides'' ***

Southern greater glider The southern greater glider (''Petauroides volans''), also known as the southern and central greater glider, is a species of large gliding marsupial native to the forests of southeastern Australia. It is a vulnerable species per the IUCN Red Li ...

, ''Petauroides volans'' * Subfamily

Pseudocheirinae Pseudocheiridae is a family of arboreal marsupials containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possums and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout Australia and New Guinea. Characteristics Physically, they ap ...

** Genus '' Petropseudes'' *** Rock-haunting ringtail possum, ''Petropseudes dahli'' ** Genus '' Pseudocheirus'' *** Common ringtail possum, ''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'' Possum Ring-tailed444

***

Western ringtail possum The western ringtail possum or ngwayir refers to a species of possum, ''Pseudocheirus occidentalis'', found in a small area of Southwest Australia. They are a cat-sized marsupial with a stocky build, dark greyish-brown fur, pale underparts and ...

, ''Pseudocheirus occidentalis'' ** Genus '' Pseudochirulus'' *** Lowland ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus canescens'' ***

Weyland ringtail possum The Weyland ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus caroli'') is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is endemic to the western Central Cordillera of Papua Province, Indonesia. ''P. caroli'' is also "known from four localitie ...

, ''Pseudochirulus caroli'' ***

Cinereus ringtail possum The Daintree River ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus cinereus''), also known as the cinereus 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 ...

, ''Pseudochirulus cinereus'' ***

Painted ringtail possum The painted ringtail possum or moss-forest ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus forbesi'') is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in Papua New Guinea. Names It is known as skoyd or boñay in the Kalam language of Papua ...

, ''Pseudochirulus forbesi'' ***

Herbert River ringtail possum The Herbert River ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus herbertensis'') is a species of possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It is a dark brown to black species, sometimes with a white belly. The Herbert River ringtail possum was lo ...

, ''Pseudochirulus herbertensis'' *** Masked ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus larvatus'' *** Pygmy ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus mayeri'' ***

Vogelkop ringtail possum The Vogelkop ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus schlegeli'') is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is endemic to the Bird's Head Peninsula, Vogelkop Peninsula, West Papua (province), West Papua, Indonesia. References

...

, ''Pseudochirulus schlegeli'' * Subfamily Pseudochiropsinae ** Genus ''

Pseudochirops False ringtail possums (''Pseudochirops'') are members of a genus of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae Pseudocheiridae is a family of arboreal marsupials containing 17 extant species of ringtailed possums and close relatives. They are f ...

'' *** D'Albertis' ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirops albertisii'' ***

Green ringtail possum The green ringtail possum (''Pseudochirops archeri'') 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. The green ringtail po ...

, ''Pseudochirops archeri'' ***

Plush-coated ringtail possum The plush-coated ringtail possum or golden ringtail possum (''Pseudochirops corinnae'') is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropic ...

, ''Pseudochirops corinnae'' ***

Reclusive ringtail possum The reclusive ringtail possum or Monk ringtail possum (''Pseudochirops coronatus'') is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is endemic to the Arfak Mountains in the Vogelkop Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia Indonesia ...

, ''Pseudochirops coronatus'' ***

Coppery ringtail possum The coppery ringtail possum (''Pseudochirops cupreus'') is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It is known as ymduŋ; bald, kagm, kas-gs, tglem-tud in the Kalam language of Papua N ...

, ''Pseudochirops cupreus'' *** †'' Pseudochirops winteri''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q23313 Possums Extant Chattian first appearances Taxa named by Herluf Winge Mammal families