Southern gray cuscus
| Southern gray cuscus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Southern gray couscous ( Phalanger mimicus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Phalanger mimicus | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1922) |
The Southern Gray cuscus ( Phalanger mimicus ) is a Kletterbeutler from the genus of couscous ( Phalanger ), which in the south of Guinea and the Cape York - Peninsula in northeast Australia is located.
features
The top of the body is gray-brown with a black median stripe on the back, the underside is white. In some specimens, the belly is also gray-brown. The prehensile tail is the same color at the root as the top, the rest of the tail is bare and dark brown. The pink ears are short and round. The head-body length is (in the Australian subspecies) 330 to 400 millimeters, the tail length 280 to 350 millimeters and weight 1500 to 2200 grams.
Subspecies
The Australian and New Guinea populations are divided into the subspecies P. m. peninsulae (TATE, 1945) and P. m. mimicus (THOMAS, 1922).
Distribution area
In New Guinea, the range of the species extends from the Mimika River over Mount Bosavi to the Orioma River ; possibly the population from the Aru Islands also belongs to P. mimicus .
In Australia , the species occurs from the McIlwraith Range to the Iron Range in rain and acacia forests (see McIlwraith and Iron Ranges Important Bird Area ).
Way of life
The couscous is a solitary, nocturnal animal. During the day he stays in a tree hole. At night it moves long through the foliage in search of food. Its diet consists of leaves, fruits and flowers.
Systematics
This species was previously considered a subspecies of the gray cuscus ( Phalanger orientalis ) and then of P. intercastellanus . By some scientists the species was formerly in the genre of strigocuscus ( Strigocuscus provided).
literature
- Groves, CP 2005. Order Diprotodontia. Pp. 43-70 in Wilson, DE & Reeder, DM (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, Vol. 1: pp. i-xxxv + 1-743; Vol. 2: pp. i-xvii + 745-2142. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4
- Menkhorst, P. & Knight, F. 2001. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, x + 269 pp. ISBN 0-19-550870-X
- Norris, CA & Musser, GG 2001. Systematic revision within the Phalanger orientalis complex (Diprotodontia, Phalangeridae): A third species of lowland gray cuscus from New Guinea and Australia. American Museum Novitates 3356: 1-20.
Web links
- Revision Within the Phalanger orientalis Complex (Diprotodontia, Phalangeridae): A Third Species of Lowland Gray Cuscus from New Guinea and Australia (PDF file; 1.31 MB)
- Phalanger mimicus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Salas, L., Dickman, C. & Helgen, K., 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2014.