Pseudocheiridae is a family of

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 ...

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 containing 17 extant species of ringtailed

possums 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, ...

and close relatives. They are found in forested areas and shrublands throughout

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 ...

and

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 ...

Characteristics

Physically, they appear very similar to the

pygmy possum The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. The five extant species of pygmy possum are grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occu ...

s, except for their greater size. Even so, they are relatively small animals, with the largest being cat-sized, and they weigh between 200 grams and 2 kilograms. They have grasping hands and feet with opposable first toes on their hindfeet, and, in all species save the

greater glider The greater gliders are three species of large gliding marsupials in the genus ''Petauroides'', all of which are found in eastern Australia. Until 2020 they were considered to be one species, '' Petauroides volans''. In 2020 morphological and gen ...

, a

prehensile tail A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has Adaptation (biology), adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully Prehensility, prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and ...

. They are

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, with large eyes. All species feed almost entirely on leaves. To enable them to digest this tough and fibrous food, they have an enlarged

cecum The cecum ( caecum, ; plural ceca or caeca, ) is a pouch within the peritoneum that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix (a ...

containing fermenting bacteria, and, like

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

s, they are

coprophagous Coprophagia ( ) or coprophagy ( ) is the consumption of feces. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek "feces" and "to eat". Coprophagy refers to many kinds of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of o ...

, passing food through their digestive tracts twice. Their teeth include a battery of grinding molars, and they lack lower

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * Animals of the family Canidae, more specifically the subfamily Caninae, which includes dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals and coyotes ** ''Canis'', a genus that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Do ...

s. Their dental formula is: Most are solitary animals, although a few live in small family groups, and they are generally shy and secretive, making them difficult to study. They travel across home ranges of up to 3

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s (7.5 acres).

Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...

lasts up to 50 days, but varies depending on species.

Classification

The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

(2005), except where th
Mammal Diversity Database
and

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 ...

agree on a change. The 20 living species of pseudocheirid possum are grouped into three subfamilies and six genera. * †'' Pildra'' * †'' Paljara'' * †'' Marlu'' * †'' Pseudokoala'' * Subfamily Hemibelideinae ** Genus '' Hemibelideus'' *** Lemur-like ringtail possum, ''Hemibelideus lemuroides'' ** Genus '' Petauroides'' *** Central greater glider, ''Petauroides armillatus'' *** Northern greater glider, ''Petauroides minor'' ***

Southern greater glider The southern greater glider (''Petauroides volans''), also known as the southern and central greater glider, is a species of large gliding marsupial native to the forests of southeastern Australia. It is a vulnerable species per the IUCN Red Li ...

, ''Petauroides volans'' * Subfamily Pseudocheirinae ** Genus '' Petropseudes'' *** Rock-haunting ringtail possum, ''Petropseudes dahli'' ** Genus '' Pseudocheirus'' ***

Common ringtail possum The common ringtail possum (''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'', Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants ...

, ''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'' Possum Ring-tailed444

***

Western ringtail possum The western ringtail possum or ngwayir (''Pseudocheirus occidentalis'') is a species of possum found in a small area of Southwest Australia. They are a cat-sized marsupial with a stocky build, dark greyish-brown fur, pale underparts and a long p ...

, ''Pseudocheirus occidentalis'' ** Genus '' Pseudochirulus'' *** Lowland ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus canescens'' *** Weyland ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus caroli'' *** Cinereus ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus cinereus'' *** Painted ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus forbesi'' *** Herbert River ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus herbertensis'' *** Masked ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus larvatus'' *** Pygmy ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus mayeri'' *** Vogelkop ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirulus schlegeli'' * Subfamily Pseudochiropsinae ** Genus '' Pseudochirops'' *** D'Albertis' ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirops albertisii'' *** Green ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirops archeri'' *** Plush-coated ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirops corinnae'' *** Reclusive ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirops coronatus'' *** Coppery ringtail possum, ''Pseudochirops cupreus'' *** †'' Pseudochirops winteri''

References

{{Authority control Possums Extant Chattian first appearances Taxa named by Herluf Winge Mammal families