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Phalangeridae

January 20, 2023

The Phalangeridae are a family of mostly nocturnal marsupials native to Australia, New Guinea, and Eastern Indonesia, including the cuscuses, brushtail possums, and their close relatives. Considered a type of possum, most species are arboreal, and they inhabit a wide range of forest habitats from alpine woodland to eucalypt forest and tropical jungle. Many species have been introduced to various non-native habitats by humans for thousands of years.[2]

Characteristics

Phalangerids are relatively large, compared with other possums. The smallest species, the Sulawesi dwarf cuscus, is cat-sized, averaging 34 cm (13 in) in length, while the largest, the black-spotted cuscus, is around 70 cm (28 in) long, and weighs 5 kg (11 lb). Besides the large size, other key features distinguishing phalangerids from other possums include the presence of bare skin on at least part of the tail, and low-crowned molar teeth. They have claws on the fore feet, but none on the hind feet, although these do have an opposable first toe to help grip onto branches. Additionally, in all but one species, both the first and second digits of the fore feet are opposable. Their fur is typically dense or woolly, and may be grey, black, or reddish-brown, often with spots or stripes.[3]

Most phalangerids are folivores, feeding primarily on leaves. Like some similar species, they have a large cecum to ferment this highly fibrous food and extract as much nutrition as possible. Their teeth, though, are not as highly adapted to this diet as other possums, and they also eat fruit, and even some invertebrates. The only exception to these general rules is the ground cuscus, which is carnivorous, and is also less arboreal than other phalangerid species.[3] The dental formula of phalangerids is:

Dentition
3.1.1.4
2.0.1-2.4

Gestation in phalangerids lasts 16–17 days in those species so far studied. The females have a well-developed pouch, and typically raise only one or two young at a time, less than many other possums. The adults are typically solitary, defending territories marked by scent-gland spray, odiferous saliva, urine, or dung.[3]

Most possums conserve the functions of the epipubic bones. The exception is Trichosurus, which remarkably among marsupials has shifted the hypaxial muscles from the epipubic to the pelvis, employing a more placental-like breathing, having lost the benefits of the epipubic in regards to lung ventilation. In general, these possums are more terrestrial than other members of this group, and resemble terrestrial primates in some respects.[4]

Classification

This classification is based on Ruedas & Morales 2005.[5] The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World (2005),[1] except where the Mammal Diversity Database and IUCN agree on a change. The family Phalangeridae consists of six genera and 27 species:

Vernacular names

Blust (1982, 1993, 2002, 2009)[6][7][8][9] reconstructs the form *kandoRa cuscus for Proto-Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (i.e., the reconstructed most recent common ancestor of the Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages), but the validity of this reconstruction is doubted by Schapper (2011).[2]

Schapper (2011) shows that reconstructed forms for cuscus are in fact quite diverse, and cannot be reconstructed to Proto-Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian. Other names for cuscus are:[2]

Other local names for the cuscus are:[2]

References

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phalangeridae.
  1. ^ a b 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. 45–50. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ a b c d Schapper, Antoinette (2011). "Phalanger Facts: Notes on Blust's Marsupial Reconstructions". Oceanic Linguistics. 50 (1). doi:10.1353/ol.2011.0004.
  3. ^ a b c Dickman, Christopher R. (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 850–855. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
  4. ^ Reilly SM, McElroy EJ, White TD, Biknevicius AR, Bennett MB, Abdominal muscle and epipubic bone function during locomotion in Australian possums: insights to basal mammalian conditions and Eutherian-like tendencies in Trichosurus, J Morphol. 2010 Apr;271(4):438-50. doi:10.1002/jmor.10808.
  5. ^ Ruedas, Luis A.; Morales, Juan Carlos (15 April 2005). "Evolutionary relationships among genera of Phalangeridae (Metatheria: Diprotodontia) inferred from mitochondrial DNA". Journal of Mammalogy. 86 (2): 353–365. doi:10.1644/BER-117.1.
  6. ^ Blust, Robert. 1982. The linguistic value of the Wallace Line. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 138:231–50.
  7. ^ Blust, Robert. 1993. Central and Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian. Oceanic Linguistics 32:241–93.
  8. ^ Blust, Robert. 2002. The history of faunal terms in Austronesian languages. Oceanic Linguistics 41:89–139.
  9. ^ Blust, Robert. 2009. The position of the languages of eastern Indonesia: A Reply to Donohue and Grimes. Oceanic Linguistics 48:36–77.

January 20, 2023
phalangeridae, family, mostly, nocturnal, marsupials, native, australia, guinea, eastern, indonesia, including, cuscuses, brushtail, possums, their, close, relatives, considered, type, possum, most, species, arboreal, they, inhabit, wide, range, forest, habita. The Phalangeridae are a family of mostly nocturnal marsupials native to Australia New Guinea and Eastern Indonesia including the cuscuses brushtail possums and their close relatives Considered a type of possum most species are arboreal and they inhabit a wide range of forest habitats from alpine woodland to eucalypt forest and tropical jungle Many species have been introduced to various non native habitats by humans for thousands of years 2 Phalangeridae 1 Common brushtail possumScientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaInfraclass MarsupialiaOrder DiprotodontiaSuperfamily PhalangeroideaFamily PhalangeridaeThomas 1888Type genusPhalangerStorr 1780GeneraAilurops Phalanger Spilocuscus Strigocuscus Trichosurus Wyulda Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Classification 3 Vernacular names 4 ReferencesCharacteristics EditPhalangerids are relatively large compared with other possums The smallest species the Sulawesi dwarf cuscus is cat sized averaging 34 cm 13 in in length while the largest the black spotted cuscus is around 70 cm 28 in long and weighs 5 kg 11 lb Besides the large size other key features distinguishing phalangerids from other possums include the presence of bare skin on at least part of the tail and low crowned molar teeth They have claws on the fore feet but none on the hind feet although these do have an opposable first toe to help grip onto branches Additionally in all but one species both the first and second digits of the fore feet are opposable Their fur is typically dense or woolly and may be grey black or reddish brown often with spots or stripes 3 Most phalangerids are folivores feeding primarily on leaves Like some similar species they have a large cecum to ferment this highly fibrous food and extract as much nutrition as possible Their teeth though are not as highly adapted to this diet as other possums and they also eat fruit and even some invertebrates The only exception to these general rules is the ground cuscus which is carnivorous and is also less arboreal than other phalangerid species 3 The dental formula of phalangerids is Dentition3 1 1 42 0 1 2 4Gestation in phalangerids lasts 16 17 days in those species so far studied The females have a well developed pouch and typically raise only one or two young at a time less than many other possums The adults are typically solitary defending territories marked by scent gland spray odiferous saliva urine or dung 3 Most possums conserve the functions of the epipubic bones The exception is Trichosurus which remarkably among marsupials has shifted the hypaxial muscles from the epipubic to the pelvis employing a more placental like breathing having lost the benefits of the epipubic in regards to lung ventilation In general these possums are more terrestrial than other members of this group and resemble terrestrial primates in some respects 4 Classification EditThis classification is based on Ruedas amp Morales 2005 5 The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson amp Reeder s Mammal Species of the World 2005 1 except where the Mammal Diversity Database and IUCN agree on a change The family Phalangeridae consists of six genera and 27 species Subfamily Ailuropinae Genus Ailurops Talaud bear cuscus Ailurops melanotis Sulawesi bear cuscus Ailurops ursinus Genus Strigocuscus Sulawesi dwarf cuscus Strigocuscus celebensis Banggai cuscus Strigocuscus pelegensis Subfamily Phalangerinae Tribe Phalangerini Genus Phalanger Gebe cuscus Phalanger alexandrae Mountain cuscus Phalanger carmelitae Ground cuscus Phalanger gymnotis Eastern common cuscus Phalanger intercastellanus Woodlark cuscus Phalanger lullulae Blue eyed cuscus Phalanger matabiru Telefomin cuscus Phalanger matanim Southern common cuscus Phalanger mimicus Northern common cuscus Phalanger orientalis Ornate cuscus Phalanger ornatus Rothschild s cuscus Phalanger rothschildi Silky cuscus Phalanger sericeus Stein s cuscus Phalanger vestitus Genus Spilocuscus Admiralty Island cuscus Spilocuscus kraemeri Common spotted cuscus Spilocuscus maculatus Waigeou cuscus Spilocuscus papuensis Black spotted cuscus Spilocuscus rufoniger Blue eyed spotted cuscus Spilocuscus wilsoni Tribe Trichosurini Genus Trichosurus Northern brushtail possum Trichosurus arnhemensis Short eared possum Trichosurus caninus Mountain brushtail possum Trichosurus cunninghami Coppery brushtail possum Trichosurus johnstonii Common brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula Genus Wyulda Scaly tailed possum Wyulda squamicaudata Vernacular names EditBlust 1982 1993 2002 2009 6 7 8 9 reconstructs the form kandoRa cuscus for Proto Central Eastern Malayo Polynesian i e the reconstructed most recent common ancestor of the Central Eastern Malayo Polynesian languages but the validity of this reconstruction is doubted by Schapper 2011 2 Schapper 2011 shows that reconstructed forms for cuscus are in fact quite diverse and cannot be reconstructed to Proto Central Eastern Malayo Polynesian Other names for cuscus are 2 Proto Timor madar Proto Southeast Maluku mander Proto Central Maluku manser Proto Oceanic kadroRa a semantic shift occurred from cuscus to bandicoot Peramelidae from Proto Central Eastern Malayo Polynesian to Proto Oceanic for the form mans a e r Proto South Halmahera do Proto Aru wagal North Bomberai languages Onin yawat Sekar kawat Arguni rawake Proto North Halmahera non Austronesian kusoroOther local names for the cuscus are 2 Central Maluku Hila makel Manipa marele Wakasihu marilu Hitu makel Kailolo makele Katu makello Larike maridu Nuaulu mara ne Timor Kemak mada Tetun meda Mambae mat Galoli madar Waima a meda Uab Meto urem Roma mada Wetar maʧa Bird s Head Peninsula Irarutu jemoga Meoswar musiew Ansus amu Warembori majeReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Phalangeridae a b 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 45 50 ISBN 0 801 88221 4 OCLC 62265494 a b c d Schapper Antoinette 2011 Phalanger Facts Notes on Blust s Marsupial Reconstructions Oceanic Linguistics 50 1 doi 10 1353 ol 2011 0004 a b c Dickman Christopher R 1984 Macdonald D ed The Encyclopedia of Mammals New York Facts on File pp 850 855 ISBN 0 87196 871 1 Reilly SM McElroy EJ White TD Biknevicius AR Bennett MB Abdominal muscle and epipubic bone function during locomotion in Australian possums insights to basal mammalian conditions and Eutherian like tendencies in Trichosurus J Morphol 2010 Apr 271 4 438 50 doi 10 1002 jmor 10808 Ruedas Luis A Morales Juan Carlos 15 April 2005 Evolutionary relationships among genera of Phalangeridae Metatheria Diprotodontia inferred from mitochondrial DNA Journal of Mammalogy 86 2 353 365 doi 10 1644 BER 117 1 Blust Robert 1982 The linguistic value of the Wallace Line Bijdragen tot de Taal Land en Volkenkunde 138 231 50 Blust Robert 1993 Central and Central Eastern Malayo Polynesian Oceanic Linguistics 32 241 93 Blust Robert 2002 The history of faunal terms in Austronesian languages Oceanic Linguistics 41 89 139 Blust Robert 2009 The position of the languages of eastern Indonesia A Reply to Donohue and Grimes Oceanic Linguistics 48 36 77 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phalangeridae amp oldid 1127678681, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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