Pygmy ringtail possum

Pygmy ringtail possum[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Pseudocheiridae
Genus: Pseudochirulus
Species:
P. mayeri
Binomial name
Pseudochirulus mayeri
Pygmy ringtail possum range
Synonyms

Pseudocheirus mayeri (Rothschild & Dollman, 1932)

The pygmy ringtail possum (Pseudochirulus mayeri) is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in the montane forest regions of Papua New Guinea and West Papua, Indonesia.[2][3] They are "widespread along the Central Cordillera" and live at elevations between 1,500 and 3,600 metres (4,900 and 11,800 ft) above sea level.”[2]

Pygmy ringtails are herbivores or “arboreal folivores” that eat pollen, lichen, fungus and “epiphytic moss."[3] P. mayeri also eat the bark of trees, which provides them with calcium and potassium.[4] They have “large incisor” teeth which help with “clipping forage from plants” and have “selenodont molars” that help with “shredding ingested foliage."[3] They have “an enlarged cecum that acts as a fermentation chamber”[5] and allows “gut bacteria to breakdown [sic] plant tissue."[3] The extra retention time allows the pygmy ringtail to obtain more nutrients from the ingested forage.

  1. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b c Helgen, K.; Dickman, C.; Salas, L. (2016). "Pseudochirulus mayeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T40640A21961792. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T40640A21961792.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Hatfield, Lucy. "Pseudochirulus mayeri (pygmy ringtail)." Animal Diversity Web. Regents of the University of Michigan, 19 March 2011. Web. 14 October 2014. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pseudochirulus_mayeri/
  4. ^ Stephens, Suzette A.; Salas, Leonardo A.; Dierenfeld, Ellen S. (2006). "Bark Consumption by the Painted Ringtail (Pseudochirulus forbesi larvatus) in Papua New Guinea". The Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation. 38 (5): 617–624. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00197.x.
  5. ^ Meredith, Robert W.; Mendoza, Miguel A.; Roberts, Karen K.; Westerman, Michael; Springer, Mark S. (2010). "A Phylogeny and Timescale for the Evolution of Pseudocheiridae (Marsupialia: Diprotodontia) in Australia and New Guinea". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 17 (2): 75–99 [76]. doi:10.1007/s10914-010-9129-7. PMC 2987229. PMID 21125022.