Long-tailed Pygmy Possum
Encyclopedia
The Long-tailed Pygmy Possum (Cercartetus caudatus) is a diprotodont marsupial
found in the rainforests of northern Australia
, Indonesia
and New Guinea
. Living at altitudes of above 1,500 meters, it eats insect
s and nectar, and may eat pollen
in place of insects in the wild.
The long-tailed pygmy possum has large eyes, mouse
/rodent
-like ears, a pouch that opens anteriorly, and a tail that is about one and half times as long as the body, giving the possum its name.
Not much is known of this possum
's behaviour, but what is known is that this species is both nocturnal and arboreal. In cold weather it becomes torpid and looks and feels dead, but wakes at night. Not much is known on the origin of this torpor.
This species breeds twice a year. Females have 1-4 young born around January and February and sometimes a second litter from late August to early September. The young leave the nest when they are 45 days old.
They only grow up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in).
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
found in the rainforests of northern 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...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and 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...
. Living at altitudes of above 1,500 meters, it eats insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and nectar, and may eat pollen
Pollen
Pollen 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 from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
in place of insects in the wild.
The long-tailed pygmy possum has large eyes, mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
/rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
-like ears, a pouch that opens anteriorly, and a tail that is about one and half times as long as the body, giving the possum its name.
Not much is known of this possum
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...
's behaviour, but what is known is that this species is both nocturnal and arboreal. In cold weather it becomes torpid and looks and feels dead, but wakes at night. Not much is known on the origin of this torpor.
This species breeds twice a year. Females have 1-4 young born around January and February and sometimes a second litter from late August to early September. The young leave the nest when they are 45 days old.
They only grow up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in).