Cuscus

For the North African dish, see Couscous.
Ground_Cuscus_cotswoldwildlifepark
Ground cuscus

Cuscus (/ˈkʌskʌs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/) is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum[1] of the family Phalangeridae with the most tropical distribution:

The name comes from the word kusu or kuso in some local related languages spoken in the Maluku Islands like Bacan and Ambonese Malay,[2] it is also applied in parts of Indonesia to the Sunda slow loris, where people do not distinguish this from the "kuskus" possums. Note however, that the loris, being a primate, is unrelated to the other cuscus species. Cuscus are marsupials, even though they have some appearances, traits and attributes like those of lemurs of Madagascar, which are prosimians,[3] due to convergent evolution.

  1. ^ "Cuscus | marsupial". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  2. ^ See:
    • Flannery, Tim (1995). Mammals of The South West Pacific and Moluccan Islands. Sydney: Australian Museum.
    • van der Zon, A.P.M (1979). Mamalia of Indonesia. UNDP-FAO Park Development Project.
  3. ^ "Common spotted cuscus a marsupial furball". Australian Geographic. 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2021-10-01.