The pygmy possums are a family of small

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 ...

that together form the

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 ...

family Burramyidae. The five extant

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of pygmy possum are grouped into two

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

. Four of the species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Australia, with one species also co-occurring in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. Pygmy possums range in length from about , and usually weigh between . They are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have ...

and

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, living on a diet of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

, nectar and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

. They are excellent climbers, due in part to their

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origi ...

tails. Although they cannot glide like some possums, some species can leap long distances. They have a prehensile tail for grabbing branches, but spend most of their time on the ground.

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The or ...

(CI) and the

Indonesian Institute of Sciences The Indonesian Institute of Sciences ( id, Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, or LIPI) was the governmental authority for science and research in Indonesia. It consists of 47 research centers in the fields ranging from social to natural scien ...

(LIPI) reported the possible discovery of a new species of ''Cercartetus'' pygmy possum upon visit to the

Foja Mountains The Foja Mountains (Foja Range, Foya Mountains) ( id, Pegunungan Foja) are located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. The mountains rise to , and have 3,000 square kilometers of old growth tropical rainforest in the int ...

in June 2007. Afp.google.com, Two new mammals found in Indonesian 'lost world': green group
/ref> The mountain pygmy possum is the only mammal restricted to the alpine and sub-alpine areas of mainland Australia. It was thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1966 at Mt Higginbotham in Victoria. They are the only Australian marsupial that hibernates. Given the alpine climates in which they live they store energy in fat deposits before rolling into a ball and engaging in

heterothermy Heterothermy or heterothermia (from Greek ἕτερος ''heteros'' "other" and θέρμη ''thermē'' "heat") is a physiological term for animals that vary between self-regulating their body temperature, and allowing the surrounding environment to ...

during winter months.

Classification

The two genera of pygmy possums are ''

Burramys ''Burramys'' is a genus of the family Burramyidae, and is represented by one living and 3 extinct (fossil) species. It is one of two genera of pygmy possum, the other being ''Cercartetus The genus ''Cercartetus'' is a group of very small pos ...

'' and ''

Cercartetus The genus ''Cercartetus'' is a group of very small possums known as pygmy possums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus '' Burramys'' make up the marsupial family Burramyidae. It has occasionally been presumed that ' ...

''. ''Burramys'' contains only one extant species, the

mountain pygmy possum The mountain pygmy possum (''Burramys parvus''); also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs ) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mo ...

, ''B. parvus''. As currently understood, ''Cercartetus'' consists of four extant species. * Family Burramyidae: pygmy possums ** Genus ''

'' ***

Mountain pygmy possum The mountain pygmy possum (''Burramys parvus''); also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs ) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mo ...

, ''B. parvus'' *** †''

Burramys wakefieldi ''Burramys'' is a genus of the family Burramyidae, and is represented by one living and 3 extinct (fossil) species. It is one of two genera of pygmy possum, the other being ''Cercartetus''. Taxonomy *Genus ''Burramys'' **†'' Burramys wakefie ...

'' *** †''

Burramys triradiatus ''Burramys'' is a genus of the family Burramyidae, and is represented by one living and 3 extinct (fossil) species. It is one of two genera of pygmy possum, the other being ''Cercartetus''. Taxonomy *Genus ''Burramys'' **†''Burramys wakefiel ...

'' *** †''

Burramys brutyi ''Burramys'' is a genus of the family Burramyidae, and is represented by one living and 3 extinct (fossil) species. It is one of two genera of pygmy possum, the other being ''Cercartetus''. Taxonomy *Genus ''Burramys'' **†''Burramys wakefiel ...

'' ** Genus ''

'' ***

Long-tailed pygmy possum The long-tailed pygmy possum (''Cercartetus caudatus'') is a diprotodont marsupial found in the rainforests of northern Australia and New Guinea. Living at altitudes of above , it eats insects and nectar, and may eat pollen in place of insects i ...

, ''C. caudatus'' ***

Western pygmy possum The western pygmy possum (''Cercartetus concinnus''), also known as the southwestern pygmy possum or the ''mundarda'', is a small marsupial found in Australia. Genetic studies indicate its closest relative is probably the eastern pygmy possum, ...

, ''C. concinnus'' ***

Tasmanian pygmy possum The Tasmanian pygmy possum (''Cercartetus lepidus''), also known as the little pygmy possum or tiny pygmy possum, is the world's smallest possum. It was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1888, after he identified that a museum specimen labe ...

, ''C. lepidus'' ***

Eastern pygmy possum The eastern pygmy possum (''Cercartetus nanus'') is a diprotodont marsupial of south-eastern Australia. Occurring from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and also Tasmania, it is found in a range of habitats, including rainforest, ...

, ''C. nanus'' † = extinct species

References

External links

Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
{{Taxonbar, from=Q23254 Possums Marsupials of Australia Extant Pleistocene first appearances