Striped Possum
Encyclopedia
The Striped Possum is a member of the Petauridae
family
, one of the marsupial
families. The species is black with three white stripes running head to tail, and its head has white stripes that form a 'Y' shape. It is closely related to the Sugar Glider
, and is similar in appearance.
woodland along the east coast of Cape York Peninsula
and as far south as Townsville in Queensland
, Australia, but is more commonly found in New Guinea
. as well as several other small islands in the area. Uncommon and rarely seen in Australia.
looks like a black and white squirrel
. It is solitary, mostly nocturnal, arboreal, and builds nests in tree branches. The body length is approx. 263 mm long, tail 325 mm, and weight 423 g. The Striped Possum's tail is prehensile
. Its fourth finger is elongated relative to the others (like the third finger of the Aye-aye
, another rainforest mammal) and is used to take beetle
s and caterpillar
s from tree bark, making it a "mammalian woodpecker". In addition, the Striped Possum eats leaves, fruits, and small vertebrates
. Its main diet consists of wood-boring insect larvae
which are extracted from rotten branches probing with its elongated fourth finger and its powerful incisor
teeth which are used to rip open tree bark to expose insects. It detects the larvae by a rapid drumming along branches with the toes of its forefoot. The fourth finger has an unusual hooked nail which it uses to extract insects out of cracks.
It emits a "very powerful unpleasant smell." It is noisy and growls. During the day it curls up on an exposed branch and sleeps.
The female striped possum has two teats in her pouch and can give birth to as many as two young. However, not a lot is known of this possum's breeding habits.
It is most easily found by the sound it makes chewing and drinking in the forest. The Striped Possum is one of the least known marsupials. The species is not considered to be threatened.
Petauridae
The family Petauridae includes 11 medium-sized possum species: four striped possums, the six species wrist-winged gliders in genus Petaurus, and Leadbeater's Possum which has only vestigal gliding membranes...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, one of the marsupial
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...
families. The species is black with three white stripes running head to tail, and its head has white stripes that form a 'Y' shape. It is closely related to the Sugar Glider
Sugar Glider
The sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...
, and is similar in appearance.
Range
The Striped Possum lives in rainforests and eucalyptEucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
woodland along the east coast of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
and as far south as Townsville 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, but is more commonly found in 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...
. as well as several other small islands in the area. Uncommon and rarely seen in Australia.
Description
This possumPossum
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...
looks like a black and white squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
. It is solitary, mostly nocturnal, arboreal, and builds nests in tree branches. The body length is approx. 263 mm long, tail 325 mm, and weight 423 g. The Striped Possum's tail is prehensile
Prehensile tail
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to be able to grasp and/or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees...
. Its fourth finger is elongated relative to the others (like the third finger of the Aye-aye
Aye-aye
The aye-aye is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth and a special thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker...
, another rainforest mammal) and is used to take beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s from tree bark, making it a "mammalian woodpecker". In addition, the Striped Possum eats leaves, fruits, and small vertebrates
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
. Its main diet consists of wood-boring insect larvae
Larvae
In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...
which are extracted from rotten branches probing with its elongated fourth finger and its powerful incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
teeth which are used to rip open tree bark to expose insects. It detects the larvae by a rapid drumming along branches with the toes of its forefoot. The fourth finger has an unusual hooked nail which it uses to extract insects out of cracks.
It emits a "very powerful unpleasant smell." It is noisy and growls. During the day it curls up on an exposed branch and sleeps.
The female striped possum has two teats in her pouch and can give birth to as many as two young. However, not a lot is known of this possum's breeding habits.
It is most easily found by the sound it makes chewing and drinking in the forest. The Striped Possum is one of the least known marsupials. The species is not considered to be threatened.