| Common Ringtail Possum[1] | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Pseudocheiridae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudocheirinae |
| Genus: | Pseudocheirus Ogilby, 1837 |
| Species: | P. peregrinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudocheirus peregrinus (Boddaert, 1785) |
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The Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus, Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. The Common Ringtail is a nocturnal herbivore, which weighs between 550 and 1100 g. It has grey fur with white patches behind the eyes and usually a cream coloured belly. It has a long prehensile tail which normally displays a distinctive white tip over 25% of its length. The back feet are syndactyl which helps it to climb.
The Common Ringtail Possum eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers and fruits. This possum also consumes a special type of faeces that are produced during the daytime when it is resting in a nest. This behaviour is called coprophagia and is similar to that seen in rabbits.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pseudocheirus |
- ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 51. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3.
- ^ Winter, J., Menkhorst, P., Lunney, D. & van Weenen, J. (2008). Pseudocheirus peregrinus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
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