Lemur-like Ringtail Possum
Encyclopedia
The Lemur-like Ringtail Possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides), also known as the Lemuroid Ringtail Possum or the Brushy-Tailed Ringtail, is one of the most singular members of the ringtail possum group. In fact, it is more closely related to the Greater Glider
(Petauroides volans) than to other ringtail possums.
This possum is found in a small area between Ingham
and Cairns
in Queensland
, Australia
. It is also found in an isolated population on Carbine Tableland.
It has a bushier tail when compared to other ringtails, and can be distinguished from the Greater Glider by its lack of gliding membrane and much shorter, hairless ears. It is a social possum, and is found in two main colour forms: the more common chocolate brown form, and a rare white form, which occurred in the Daintree Rainforest
and was last seen in 2005. However, in 2009, three brown lemuroid ringtail possums were observed in the Daintree National Park, on Cape York.
Greater Glider
The Greater Glider is a small gliding marsupial found in Australia. It is not closely related to the Petaurus group of gliding marsupials but instead to the Lemur-like Ringtail Possum , with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae.The Greater Glider is nocturnal and is a solitary herbivore...
(Petauroides volans) than to other ringtail possums.
This possum is found in a small area between 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...
and 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...
in 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 is also found in an isolated population on Carbine Tableland.
It has a bushier tail when compared to other ringtails, and can be distinguished from the Greater Glider by its lack of gliding membrane and much shorter, hairless ears. It is a social possum, and is found in two main colour forms: the more common chocolate brown form, and a rare white form, which occurred in the Daintree Rainforest
Daintree Rainforest
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest on the north east coast of Queensland, Australia, north of Mossman and Cairns. At around 1200 square kilometres the Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian continent...
and was last seen in 2005. However, in 2009, three brown lemuroid ringtail possums were observed in the Daintree National Park, on Cape York.