The masked ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus larvatus'') is a

marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...

possum of the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in northeastern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

in the Star Mountains. the eastern Central Cordillera, the

Huon Peninsula Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finist ...

and the northern coast ranges. Masked ringtails are

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 (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

residents of various

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ecosystems. They are

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

and locally common. This species is sometimes classified as a subpopulation of '' P. forbesi''; however, it has a separate range.

References

Possums Mammals of Papua New Guinea Mammals of Western New Guinea Mammals described in 1911 Marsupials of New Guinea Taxa named by Walter Rothschild {{Diprotodont-stub