The Daintree River ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus cinereus''), also known as the cinereus ringtail possum, is a species of

possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...

found in northeastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It was long believed to be the same as the

Herbert River ringtail possum The Herbert River ringtail possum (''Pseudochirulus herbertensis'') is a species of possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It is a dark brown to black species, sometimes with a white belly. The Herbert River ringtail possum was long ...

(''P. herbertensis''), but has recently been separated. The two species differ considerably in appearance. The Daintree River ringtail possum is a cinnamon or brown colour, and has been said, like the

lemuroid ringtail possum The lemuroid ringtail possum (''Hemibelideus lemuroides''), also known as the lemur-like ringtail possum or the brushy-tailed ringtail, is a truly singular member of the ringtail possum group. It was once thought that they were greater gliders (' ...

(''Hemibelideus lemuroides''), to resemble a

lemur Lemurs ( ; from Latin ) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea ( ), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are Endemism, ...

. It is found in montane tropical

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

in three separate populations just north of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

: on Carbine Tableland, Mount Windsor Tableland and

Thornton Peak Thornton Peak is a prominent mountain that rises above the Daintree Rainforest to a height of 1374 m. The mountain is located about 126km northwest of Cairns within the catchment of the Daintree River. It is Queensland's fourth highest pe ...

massif.

References

Possums Mammals of Queensland Mammals described in 1945 Taxa named by George Henry Hamilton Tate {{Diprotodont-stub