The blue-eyed spotted cuscus or Biak spotted cuscus (''Spilocuscus wilsoni'') is a species of

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

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 ...

in the family Phalangeridae.

Taxonomy

The blue-eyed spotted cuscus is one of five species of spotted cuscus in the genus '' Spilocuscus''.

Description

The blue-eyed spotted cuscus has a pale marbled coat with shades of brown, grey, and white with a creamy white underbelly. This species is relatively smaller in size than the other ''Spilocuscus'' cuscuses and has distinct pale blue eyes.

Distribution and habitat

The blue-eyed spotted cuscus can be found on several of the islands in the Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. This region is made up of the islands Biak, Supiori, and Numfor. Despite being endemic to the islands Biak and Supiori, the blue-eyed spotted cuscus have been spotted on the island of Numfor as pets. This cuscus lives in the treetops of the tropical rainforests found throughout Supiori and Biak. Due to the rugged terrain common on the Supiori Island, it is better insulated from human foot traffic and allows for a more flourishing population than that on Biak.

Conservation

The major threats to the blue-eyed spotted cuscus include

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

, and collection for the exotic pet trade by locals. Due to its rarity, the blue-eyed spotted cuscus was only scientifically described in 2004 and was deemed

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

in 2015. Recent surveys have failed to find any wild individuals from Numfor and, more recently, Biak. Currently, there are no widespread conservation efforts dedicated to protecting this species. However, 12% of its ecoregion (344km²) has been classified as protected between the three islands.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1957745 Possums Mammals of Western New Guinea Mammals described in 2004 Endemic fauna of the Biak–Numfoor rain forests Marsupials of New Guinea Taxa named by Tim Flannery