The Herbert River ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus herbertensis'') is a species of possum found in northeastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a dark brown to black species, sometimes with a white belly. The Herbert River ringtail possum was long considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with the

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 ...

(''P. cinereus''), despite the fact that they are very different in appearance. They are, however, the only members of their

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

-centred genus found in

. The Herbert River ringtail possum is restricted to tropical

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

from

Mount Lee Mount Lee is a peak in the Santa Monica Mountains, located in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Hollywood Sign is located on its southern slope. History The original unnamed peak was one of the "three sisters" along with C ...

, west of Ingham, to the

Lamb Range Lamb Range is a locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Lamb Range had a population of 0. Geography The locality takes its name from the mountain range Lamb Range. The locality that lies to the west of most of the south ...

, west of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

Ecological problems

The Herbert River ringtail's diet mainly consists of leaves with high levels of protein.Berger, Alison. "Pseudochirulus Herbertensis (Herbert River Ringtail)." ''Animal Diversity Web.'' Regents University of Michigan, 1 July. 2006. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pseudochirulus_herbertensis/
/ref> Some secondary food sources are pink bloodwood, cadaghi, bumpy satinash and white basswood. Pink bloodwood and cadaghi are two different types of

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

trees. Since the ''P. herbertensis'' diet consists of these Eucalyptus trees, ecologist John Kanowski of the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centre at Atherton believes ''P. herbertensis'' is one of "seven rare marsupials" threatened by global warming.O'Neill, Graeme . "Treetoptremors." ''Greenhouse Effects'' 99 (1999): p.15, 15-19. ''ECOS Magazine.'' Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?act=view_file&file_id=EC99p15.pdf
/ref> Kanowski believes that both the Herbert River Ringtail Possum and

Daintree River Ringtail Possum The Daintree River ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus cinereus''), also known as the cinereus ringtail possum, is a species of Phalangeriformes, possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It was long believed to be the same as the Herbert ...

are at risk because the increased temperatures from

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

force them and other

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 po ...

s to retreat up the mountains, thus “reducing

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

area of favorable habitat.”O'Neill, Graeme . "Treetoptremors." ''Greenhouse Effects'' 99 (1999): p.16, 15-19. ''ECOS Magazine.'' Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?act=view_file&file_id=EC99p15.pdf
/ref> However, Kanowski is more worried about the increase in

Carbon Dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

() levels. When levels increase, it leads to a change in the

metabolic Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

process of trees thus "chang ngthe balance of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

in their leaves" and leading to an increase in production of

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', ...

s by the tree. This is problematic because "tannins can potentially inhibit the ability of leaf eating animals to digest protein; ndat high concentrations, tannins are actually toxic." Therefore, while ''P. herbertensis'' may seem secure, their dependency on the rainforest "makes them vulnerable to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

References

Possums Mammals of Queensland Mammals described in 1884 {{Diprotodont-stub