Herbert River Ringtail Possum
Encyclopedia
The Herbert River Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirulus herbertensis) is a species of possum
found in northeastern Queensland
, Australia
. It a dark brown to black species, sometimes with a white belly.
The Herbert River Ringtail Possum was long considered conspecific with the Cinereus Ringtail Possum
(P. cinereus), despite the fact that they are very different in appearance. They are, however, the only members of their New Guinea
-centred genus found in Australia
. The Herbert River Ringtail Possum is restricted to tropical rainforest
from Mount Lee, west of Ingham
, to the Lamb Range, west of Cairns
.
Possum
A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...
found in northeastern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It a dark brown to black species, sometimes with a white belly.
The Herbert River Ringtail Possum was long considered conspecific with the Cinereus Ringtail Possum
Cinereus Ringtail Possum
The Cinereus Ringtail Possum , also known as the Daintree River Ringtail Possum, is a species of possum found in northeastern Queensland, Australia. It was long believed to be the same as the Herbert River Ringtail Possum , but has recently been separated...
(P. cinereus), despite the fact that they are very different in appearance. They are, however, the only members of their New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
-centred genus found in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Herbert River Ringtail Possum is restricted to tropical rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
from Mount Lee, west of Ingham
Ingham, Queensland
Ingham is a town in the Great Green Way region of North Queensland, Australia. The town was founded in 1864, gazetted a shire in 1879, and is the service centre for many sugarcane plantations, pioneered in the 1870s by William Ingham, for whom the town is named...
, to the Lamb Range, west of Cairns
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
.