Floor cuscus
| Floor cuscus | ||||||||||||
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Sulawesi cuscus (below) and Sangihe cuscus (above and in the middle) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Strigocuscus | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1861 |
The soil cuscus ( Strigocuscus ) are a genus of marsupial mammals from the climbing family (Phalangeridae).
The fur of these animals is gray or reddish brown on the upper side, the underside is lighter. As with many climbing baglers, the small, round head, the small ears, the large, forward-facing eyes and the thick, woolly fur are characteristic. The first two fingers of the front paws are opposable , the tail can be used as a prehensile tail. Floor cuscus reach a head body length of 29 to 38 centimeters, a tail length of 25 to 37 centimeters and a weight of around 1.1 kilograms.
Bodenkuskus live on Sulawesi (Celebes) and offshore islands. They have the most westerly distribution area of all marsupial mammals next to the bear cuscus . Their habitat are predominantly forests, where they mostly stay on the trees. They are nocturnal and may live together in pairs. Their diet is likely to consist mainly of fruits and leaves.
There are two living species:
- The Sulawesi couscous ( Strigocuscus celebensis ) lives on Sulawesi and the offshore island of Muna .
- The Sangihe cuscus ( Strigocuscus sangirensis ) is endemic to the small island of Sangihe Besar north of Sulawesi.
Two extinct species, S. notialis and S. reidi , are also known.
The systematics of this genus is controversial. Three other species, S. rothschildi , S. ornatus and S. gymnotis , are more likely to be classified in phalanges today ; in older works the whole genus is still to be found among the cuscus ( phalanger ). According to recent studies, the ground cuscus could be more closely related to the bear cusus ( Ailurops ), which also occurs on Sulawesi .
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Kristofer Helgen & Stephen Jackson: Family Phalangeridae (Cuscuses, Brush-tailed Possums and Scaly-tailed Possum). Page 486 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6 .
