Northern Common Cuscus
Encyclopedia
The Northern Common Cuscus (Phalanger orientalis), also known as the Grey Cuscus, is a species of marsupial
in the Phalangeridae
family. It is native to northern New Guinea
and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago
, south-east and central Moluccas
, the Solomons
and Timor
, where it is believed to have been introduced
. It was formerly considered conspecific with the allopatric P. intercastellanus
and P. mimicus
.
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...
in the Phalangeridae
Phalangeridae
Phalangeridae is a family of nocturnal marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives...
family. It is native to northern 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...
and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
, south-east and central Moluccas
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
, the Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
and Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
, where it is believed to have been introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It was formerly considered conspecific with the allopatric P. intercastellanus
Eastern Common Cuscus
The Eastern Common Cuscus is a species of marsupial in the Phalangeridae family. It is found in eastern Papua New Guinea. Until recently, it was considered conspecific with P. mimicus, and before that also with P. orientalis....
and P. mimicus
Southern Common Cuscus
The Southern Common Cuscus is also known as Australian Cuscus, Grey Cuscus, Grey Phalanger, and To-ili. An arboreal marsupial, it is endemic to Australia , southern New Guinea and possibly the Aru Islands. Until recently, it was considered conspecific with P. intercastellanus, and before that also...
.