''Phalanger'' (from the Greek ''phalangion'', meaning spider's web, from their webbed (fused) toes
[Chambers English Dictionary]) is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
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 ...
s. Its members are found on
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 ...
, the
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonics, Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West ...
, other nearby small islands, and Australia's
Cape York Peninsula
The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
. They are
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 ...
s of 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 ...
,
and are one of the four genera whose species are commonly referred to as
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''
* '' Strigocu ...
es.
*Genus ''Phalanger''
**
Gebe cuscus
The Gebe cuscus (''Phalanger alexandrae'') is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the island of Gebe, North Maluku province, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in So ...
, ''P. alexandrae''
**
Mountain cuscus, ''P. carmelitae''
**
Ground cuscus
The ground cuscus (''Phalanger gymnotis'') is a marsupial from the order Diprotodontia and belongs within the family Phalangeridae, a diverse family consisting of the other cuscus species and the brushtail possums ('' Trichosurus'' spp.) and t ...
, ''P. gymnotis''
**
Eastern common cuscus
The eastern common cuscus (''Phalanger intercastellanus'') is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae found in eastern Papua New Guinea. Until recently, it was considered conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a charac ...
, ''P. intercastellanus''
**
Woodlark cuscus
The Woodlark cuscus (''Phalanger lullulae'') is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae endemic to Papua New Guinea, specifically on Madau and Woodlark Island, a part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It happens to be t ...
, ''P. lullulae''
**
Blue-eyed cuscus
The blue-eyed cuscus (''Phalanger matabiru'') is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the two small islands of Ternate and Tidore, west of the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, Indonesia
Indon ...
, ''P. matabiru''
**
Telefomin cuscus
The Telefomin cuscus (''Phalanger matanim'') is a critically endangered possum found on New Guinea.
It is named after the Telefol ethnic group, who hunted the animal long before it was identified scientifically by the Australian zoologist Tim ...
, ''P. matanim''
**
Southern common cuscus
The southern common cuscus (''Phalanger mimicus''), also known as Australian cuscus, gray phalanger, and ''to-ili'', is an arboreal marsupial endemic to Australia ( Cape York), southern New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , ...
, ''P. mimicus''
**
Northern common cuscus
The northern common cuscus (''Phalanger orientalis''), also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipela ...
, ''P. orientalis''
**
Ornate cuscus, ''P. ornatus''
**
Rothschild's cuscus
Rothschild's cuscus (''Phalanger rothschildi''), also called the Obi Island cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the islands of Obi, Bisa and Obilatu in the Obi Islands of Maluku province, Indonesia
...
, ''P. rothschildi''
**
Silky cuscus
The silky cuscus (''Phalanger sericeus'') is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Names
It is known as atwak, añ, sosus, or beŋ-tud in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea.Pawle ...
, ''P. sericeus''
**
Stein's cuscus, ''P. vestitus''
References
External links
*
*
Possums
Marsupials of Oceania
Marsupial genera
Taxa named by Gottlieb Conrad Christian Storr
{{Marsupial-stub