Telefomin cousins
| Telefomin cousins | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Phalanger matanim | ||||||||||||
| Flannery , 1987 |
The Telefomin-Kuskus ( Phalanger matanim ) ( English Telefomin Cuscus ) is an extremely rare or already extinct climber from the genus of the Kuskus ( Phalanger ), which is endemic in the valley of the Nong River in the districts of Telefomin and Tifalmin in the far west of Papua New Guinea is. It occurs in oak forests at altitudes from 1400 to 2600 m above sea level. This species was known to the Telefol people for a very long time, before Tim Flannery collected the six type specimens in 1985 and 1986. 1987 Flannery gave the first scientific description. The species name matanim is derived from the Telefol name for this species.
description
The Telefomin cuscus is a large, stocky cuscus with a long, gray fur. The belly is white. The ears are short, the arms weak, the tail short and the teeth small. The head-trunk length is 344 to 438 millimeters, the tail length 275 to 315 millimeters, the hind foot length 40.1 to 45.3 millimeters, the ear length 20 to 21 millimeters. The animal reaches a weight of 1100 to 2000 grams. The Telefomin couscous has no close relatives and is believed to be a primitive species.
Existence and endangerment
In 2001 Tim Flannery visited the Nong Valley again after 1986. The mountain oak forest, which was still intact when the species was discovered, was completely destroyed by drought, night frost and fire in 1997 and Flannery found no more signs of survival of the Telefomin cuscus. In 2008, the IUCN classified this type in the category of "threatened with extinction" ( critically endangered ) with the addition possibly extinct ( possibly extinct ).
literature
- TF Flannery: Mammals of New Guinea . Chatswood: Reed Books 1995, 568 pages; ISBN 978-0-7301-0411-7
- CP Groves: 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 2005, 2 vols., 2142 pages; ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0
Individual evidence
- ^ Flannery, Tim F., 1987. A new species of Phalanger (Phalangeridae: Marsupialia) from montane western Papua New Guinea. Records of the Australian Museum 39 (4): 183-193.
Web links
- Phalanger matanim inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.2. Posted by: Leary, T., Seri, L., Flannery, T., Wright, D., Hamilton, S., Helgen, K., Singadan, R., Menzies, J., Allison, A., James, R., Salas, L. & Dickman, C., 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2016.