The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. The five extant species of pygmy possum are grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Pygmy possums range in length from about 5 to 12 cm (2.0 to 4.7 in), and usually weigh between 10 and 50 grams (0.35 and 1.76 oz). They are nocturnal and omnivorous, living on a diet of invertebrates, fruit, seed, nectar and pollen. They are excellent climbers, due in part to their prehensile tails. Although they cannot glide like some possums, some species can leap long distances.[2] They have a prehensile tail for grabbing branches, but spend most of their time on the ground.
Conservation International (CI) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) reported the possible discovery of a new species of Cercartetus pygmy possum upon visit to the Foja Mountains in June 2007.[3]
The mountain pygmy possum is the only mammal restricted to the alpine
and sub-alpine areas of mainland Australia. It was thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1966 at Mt Higginbotham in Victoria. They are the only Australian marsupial that hibernates. Given the alpine climates in which they live they store energy in fat deposits before rolling into a ball and engaging in heterothermy during winter months.
^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. pp. 44–45. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
^Turner, Vivienne & McKay, G. M. (1989). "27. Burramyidae". In Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B. J. (eds.). Fauna of Australia, Volume 1B: Mammalia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-06056-5.
^"Afp.google.com, Two new mammals found in Indonesian 'lost world': green group". Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
The pygmypossums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. The five extant species of pygmypossum are grouped...
The mountain pygmypossum (Burramys parvus), also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs 45 grams (1.6 oz)) nocturnal marsupial...
The western pygmypossum (Cercartetus concinnus), also known as the southwestern pygmypossum or the mundarda, is a small marsupial found in Australia...
The Tasmanian pygmypossum (Cercartetus lepidus), also known as the little pygmypossum or tiny pygmypossum, is the world's smallest possum. It was first...
The eastern pygmypossum (Cercartetus nanus) is a diprotodont marsupial of south-eastern Australia. Occurring from southern Queensland to eastern South...
brushtail possum) to specialist browsers of eucalyptus (greater glider), insectivores (mountain pygmypossum) and nectar-feeders (honey possum). About two-thirds...
feathertail glider (Acrobates pygmaeus), also known as the pygmy gliding possum, pygmy glider, pygmy phalanger, flying phalanger and flying mouse, is a species...
in New Zealand, and the second-largest of the possums. Like most possums, the common brushtail possum is nocturnal. It is mainly a folivore, but has...
The honey possum or noolbenger (Tarsipes rostratus), is a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering...
group to a clade that includes macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) and possums. The koala's lineage possibly branched off around 40 million years ago...
The pygmy ringtail possum (Pseudochirulus mayeri) is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in the montane forest regions of...
Australia and New Guinea. Physically, they appear very similar to the pygmypossums, except for their greater size. Even so, they are relatively small animals...
Mountain brushtail possum, T. cunninghami Coppery brushtail possum, T. johnstonii Common brushtail possum, T. vulpecula Northern brushtail possum (T. arnhemensis)...
The common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus, Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in...
Phalangeridae: (brushtail possums and cuscuses) Family Burramyidae: (pygmypossums) Family †Ektopodontidae: (sprite possums) Superfamily Petauroidea Family...
(Petaurus breviceps) is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap...
prevalence of intact seeds in scat. Burramys parvus, or the Mountain Pygmy-possum, habituates in dense alpine rock across southern Victoria and Kosciuszko...
of elemental silver in a highly sensitive environment affecting the pygmypossum, among other species, as well as recent high-level algal blooms in once...
one living and 3 extinct (fossil) species. It is one of two genera of pygmypossum, the other being Cercartetus. Genus Burramys †Burramys wakefieldi †Burramys...
The genus Cercartetus is a group of very small possums known as pygmypossums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus Burramys...
areas. They come in a wide array of sizes, ranging from the Tasmanian pygmypossum, at 5 cm (2 in) plus a 6 cm (2 in) tail, to the red kangaroo, at 160 cm...