This collection of marsupials includes 26 animals from six different Families. All are arboreal and have adaptations for this lifestyle.
Features: agile climbers, mostly nocturnal
Diet: members of each Family eat some of the following:
insects under tree bark, tree sap, nectar, honeydew, pollen, fruits, acacia gum, small animals, leaves, bird eggs
Family Acrobatidae
Feathertail Glider
Diet: eats insects, pollen, nectar
- tail used as a rudder in flight, for grasping on landing
- large serrated toe pads to cling to smooth surfaces
- smallest gliding mammal
Number of species: 1
Family Tarsipes
Honey Possum
- eats pollen, nectar
- tail used for grasping
Number of species: 1
Family Phalangeridae
- Brush-tailed and scaly-tailed possums and cuscuses belong to this Family.
- tail has a friction pad of naked skin on the underside for gripping branches forward-facing pouch
Diet: leaves, fruit, flowers
Within this Family there are three groupings :
Brush-tailed Possums
- feed on the ground as well as in trees
- have a scent gland on the chest for marking
Number of species: 2
Scaly-tailed Possum
- found in the Kimberley region of WA
Number of species: 1
Cuscuses
- found in rainforest of north QLD
- also found in New Guinea
Number of species: 2
Family Petauridae
Gliding Possums
- thin membrane of loose, fur-covered skin between wrist and ankle
- eat insects under bark of trees, tree sap, honeydew, acacia gum, nectar, pollen, fruit
Number of species: 6
Family Pseudocheiridae
- tail coils around branches and has a friction pad of naked skin on the underside at the tip
- active at night, during daytime they rest in nests, in tree hollows, on open branches, epiphytic plants
Diet: mainly leaves
This Family has two subdivisions :
Ringtail Possums
- builds a nest in a tree for daytime resting
Number of species: 7
Greater Glider
- gliding membrane attaches to the elbow and ankle
Number of species: 1
Family Burramyidae
Pygmy-possums
- opposable big toe for climbing
- tail used for grasping
- becomes still and torpid on cold winter days