The mountain cuscus, Phalanger carmelitae, is a nocturnal, arboreal marsupial in the family Phalangeridae that lives in undisturbed montane forest at 1,350 to 3,800 m in the central mountain ranges and on the Huon Peninsula of New Guinea, in both West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1898, has two recognised subspecies, and was once treated as a subspecies of Stein's cuscus. Adults are 37 to 43 cm long, weigh 1.7 to 2.6 kg and have dark woolly fur with a white belly. About 80 percent of the diet is leaves and 18 to 20 percent fruit. It is hunted for food and loses habitat to subsistence farming, but it is abundant where unhunted and is listed as Least Concern, with a stable population.
Facts
Classification
Population Trend System (Realm) ThreatsAgriculture and Aquaculture 1 ThreatsBiological Resource Use 1 Relationship to People Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Activity Pattern Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Mountain cuscus (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Mountain cuscus (Wikipedia)LeadQuote, Lead
The mountain cuscus (Phalanger carmelitae) is a marsupial in the family Phalangeridae found throughout the central mountain ranges and Huon Peninsula of New Guinea, in both West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Mountain cuscus (Wikipedia)Lead, where it livesQuote, Lead, where it lives
found throughout the central mountain ranges and Huon Peninsula of New Guinea
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Mountain cuscus (Wikipedia)LeadQuote, Lead
The mountain cuscus (Phalanger carmelitae) is a marsupial in the family Phalangeridae found throughout the central mountain ranges and Huon Peninsula of New Guinea, in both West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Sources
1. Mountain cuscus (Wikipedia)
Lead
The mountain cuscus (Phalanger carmelitae) is a marsupial in the family Phalangeridae found throughout the central mountain ranges and Huon Peninsula of New Guinea, in both West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Human interactions
The mountain cuscus is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Behavior
The population trend is considered stable.
Behavior, activity pattern
The mountain cuscus is nocturnal and arboreal
Diet
The mountain cuscus is primarily a leaf-eater, with leaves making up around 80% of its diet.
Human interactions, relationship to people
The mountain cuscus is hunted by local people for food throughout much of its range.
Human interactions, threats
mostly through deforestation for subsistence agriculture
Description
weighs 1.7-2.6 kg
Habitat and environment
It prefers undisturbed primary forest
Lead, where it lives
found throughout the central mountain ranges and Huon Peninsula of New Guinea
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.