The
pygmy possums are a family of small
possumA possum is any of about 69 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi . The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas...
s that together form the
marsupialMarsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by a distinctive pouch , in which females carry their young through early infancy.- History :...
family
Burramyidae. There are five extant
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of pygmy possum, grouped into two
generaIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
. Four of the species are endemic to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, with one species also co-occurring in
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Pygmy possums range in length from about long, and usually weigh between . They are nocturnal and
omnivorousOmnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, living on a diet of
invertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a vertebral column. The group includes 95% of all animal species — all animals except those in the Chordate subphylum Vertebrata ....
s,
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
,
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, nectar and
pollenPollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
.
The
pygmy possums are a family of small
possumA possum is any of about 69 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi . The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas...
s that together form the
marsupialMarsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by a distinctive pouch , in which females carry their young through early infancy.- History :...
family
Burramyidae. There are five extant
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of pygmy possum, grouped into two
generaIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
. Four of the species are endemic to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, with one species also co-occurring in
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Pygmy possums range in length from about long, and usually weigh between . They are nocturnal and
omnivorousOmnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, living on a diet of
invertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a vertebral column. The group includes 95% of all animal species — all animals except those in the Chordate subphylum Vertebrata ....
s,
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
,
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, nectar and
pollenPollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
. They are excellent climbers, due in part to their possession of a
prehensilePrehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term prehendere, meaning "to grasp."-Examples:Appendages that can become prehensile include:...
tail. Although they cannot glide like some other species of possum, some species are able to leap a long distance.
Conservation InternationalConservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, that seeks to protect Earth's biodiversity "hotspots," high-biodiversity wilderness areas as well as important marine regions around the globe...
(CI) and the
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
Institute of Science (LIPI) reported on the possible discovery of a new species of
Cercartetus pygmy possum upon visit to the
Foja MountainsThe Foja Mountains or Foja Range is located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. The mountains rise to 2,193 meters , and contain more than 3,000 square kilometres of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range.The entire Foja forest tract covers some...
in June 2007.
Classification
There are two genera of pygmy possums:
BurramysBurramys is a genus of the family Burramyidae, and is represented by one extant and 3 extinct species. It is one of two genera of pygmy possum, the other being Cercartetus.-Taxonomy:*Genus Burramys**†Burramys wakefieldi...
and
CercartetusThe genus Cercartetus is a group of very small possums known as pygmy possums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus Burramys make up the marsupial family Burramyidae....
.
Burramys contains only one extant species, the
Mountain Pygmy PossumThe Mountain Pygmy Possum is a small, mouse-sized nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mount Kosciuszko in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It is approximately 11 cm long; although its prehensile...
,
Burramys parvus. As currently understood,
Cercartetus consists of four extant species.
- Family Burramyidae: pygmy possums
- Genus Burramys
Burramys is a genus of the family Burramyidae, and is represented by one extant and 3 extinct species. It is one of two genera of pygmy possum, the other being Cercartetus.-Taxonomy:*Genus Burramys**†Burramys wakefieldi...
- Mountain Pygmy Possum
The Mountain Pygmy Possum is a small, mouse-sized nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mount Kosciuszko in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It is approximately 11 cm long; although its prehensile...
, Burramys parvus
- †Burramys wakefieldi
- †Burramys tridactylus
- †Burramys brutyi
- Genus Cercartetus
The genus Cercartetus is a group of very small possums known as pygmy possums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus Burramys make up the marsupial family Burramyidae....
- Long-tailed Pygmy Possum
The Long-tailed Pygmy Possum is a diprotodont marsupial found in the rainforests of northern Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea...
, Cercartetus caudatus
- Western Pygmy Possum, Cercartetus concinnus
- Tasmanian Pygmy Possum
The Tasmanian Pygmy Possum , also known as the Little Pygmy Possum, is Australia's smallest possum. It is found in Tasmania, in the Murray-Darling basin in South Australia and Victoria and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia...
, Cercartetus lepidus
- Eastern Pygmy Possum
The Eastern Pygmy Possum is a diprotodont marsupial of south-eastern Australia. Occurring from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and also Tasmania, it is found in a range of habitats, including rainforest, sclerophyll forest, woodland and heath.This species is very small, weighing...
, Cercartetus nanus
† = extinct species.
External links