Tasmanian Pygmy Possum
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| Tasmanian Pygmy Possum[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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| Cercartetus lepidus Thomas, 1888 |
The Tasmanian Pygmy Possum (Cercartetus lepidus), also known as the Little Pygmy Possum, is Australia's smallest possum. It is found in Tasmania, in the Murray-Darling basin in South Australia and Victoria and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The Tasmanian Pygmy Possum is an arboreal species with a prehensile tail, that occurs in sclerophyll forests.
The body of the Tasmanian Pygmy Possum is on average 64 mm in length, with a 71 mm long tail, and weighs on average 7 g. The Tasmanian Pygmy Possum is insectivorous.
[edit] References
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 45. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Cercartetus lepidus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
[edit] External links
- Factsheet on the little pygmy possum from Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water
- Images: skulls (including C. lepidus) on Museum Victoria website
- Images: Australian mammal images (including C. lepidus) on Museum Victoria website
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