The ground cuscus (''Phalanger gymnotis'') is a

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 ...

from the order

Diprotodontia Diprotodontia (, from Greek "two forward teeth") is the largest extant order of marsupials, with about 155 species, including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the hippopotamus-sized ...

and belongs within the family

Phalangeridae The Phalangeridae are a family of mostly nocturnal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Eastern Indonesia, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives. Considered a type of possum, most species are arboreal, ...

, a diverse family consisting of the other

cuscus Cuscus ( or ) is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum of the family Phalangeridae with the most tropical distribution: * ''Ailurops'' * ''Phalanger'' * ''Spilocuscus'' * ''Strigocuscus'' ...

species and the

brushtail possum The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hy ...

s (''

Trichosurus The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hyp ...

'' spp.) and the scaly-tailed possum (''Wyulda squamicaudata'').

Names

It is known as madaw, ket-ketm, or kñm in the

Kalam language Kalam is a Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. It is closely related to Kobon, and shares many of the features of that language. Kalam is spoken in Middle Ramu District of Madang Province and in Mount Hagen District of Western Highlands Provin ...

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 ...

.Pawley, Andrew and Ralph Bulmer. 2011. ''A Dictionary of Kalam with Ethnographic Notes''. Canberra. Pacific Linguistics.

Description

Body weight of the ground cuscus averages 2.5 – 3.0 kg. Head and body length is about 440 mm and tail length is 330 mm although wild populations show variation depending on their location, with individuals from lowland regions being the largest and highland animals the smallest. It has opposable thumbs on the hind feet, 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 ...

, and a bifurcation between the second and third front digits to allow it to move easily within the trees and to feed in a suspensory position. The pelage is short and dense and is usually some shade of grey, often with white markings on the belly and scrotum. The tail has a course,

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

-like appearance at the base and on the dorsal side, with a ridged fingertip patterning on the underside to facilitate gripping. The feet are large with five digits, only the opposable digit on each hind foot is without claws. The ears of the ground cuscus are prominent and naked. The pouch opens forward and contains four

mammae A mammary gland is an exocrine gland in humans and other mammals that produces milk to feed young offspring. Mammals get their name from the Latin word ''mamma'', "breast". The mammary glands are arranged in organs such as the breasts in primat ...

Behavior

Cuscuses are generally

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 ...

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

frugivore A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

s, and are slow-moving and

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

, although hunters in

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 Torres ...

have observed them sunning themselves outside their burrows in the early morning. The tendency to nest in burrows makes this species vulnerable to hunting with dogs. The ground cuscus differs from all other

phalangerid The Phalangeridae are a family of mostly nocturnal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Eastern Indonesia, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives. Considered a type of possum, most species are arboreal, ...

s in spending its days in burrows in the ground and appears as comfortable at ground level as in the trees. Captive specimens are often described as being mainly arboreal, whereas wild ground cuscuses are generally described as a terrestrial species. Regarded as a solitary species, the ground cuscus fights by adopting a bipedal stance and lashing out with the forelimbs whilst emitting hissing and barking vocalisations. In captivity, compatible pairs can be housed together, but periodic fighting may still occur.

Lifespan

No information on longevity in the wild is available. A captive specimen was known to live for 18 years with 10 years not uncommon.

Habitats

The ground cuscus is endemic to New Guinea and

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a ...

and inhabits both forests and scrubland. It is most common at elevations between 500 and 1500 m but has been recorded as low as 200 m and as high as 2600 m. Swampy areas, deltas and floodplains are usually avoided. The ground cuscus is classified as "Least Concern" on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolo ...

, although it has been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from parts of its original range by excessive hunting.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q209134 Possums Mammals described in 1875 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Marsupials of New Guinea