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Phalangeriformes is a suborder of any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi. The suborder includes animals commonly known as possums, gliders, and cuscus. The common name "possum" for various Phalangeriformes species derives from the creatures' resemblance to the opossums of the Americas. However, although opossums are also marsupials, Australasian possums are more closely related to other Australasian marsupials such as kangaroos.
Diprotodontia is an order of about 125 species
of marsupial mammals including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, koala, wombats, and many others. Extinct diprotodonts include the rhinoceros-sized Diprotodon, and Thylacoleo, the so-called "marsupial lion".
The eastern pygmy possum is a diprotodont marsupial of south-eastern Australia. Occurring from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and also Tasmania, it is found in a range of habitats, including rainforest, sclerophyll forest, woodland and heath.
The Gebe cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the island of Gebe Umera, North Maluku province, Indonesia, where it lives at elevations from sea level to 300 m.
The mountain cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The ground cuscus is a marsupial from the order Diprotodontia and belongs within the family Phalangeridae, a diverse family consisting of the other cuscus species and the brushtail possums and the scaly-tailed possum.
The eastern common cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae found in eastern Papua New Guinea. Until recently, it was considered conspecific with P. mimicus, and before that also with P. orientalis.
The Woodlark cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae endemic to Papua New Guinea, specifically on Madau and Woodlark Island, a part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It happens to be the largest mammal living on Woodlark Island but it is also found on the neighboring island of Alcester, 70 kilometers south of Woodlark Island.
The northern common cuscus, also known as the grey cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, south-east and central Moluccas, the Solomons, and Timor, where it's believed to have been introduced in prehistoric times. It was formerly considered conspecific with the allopatric P. intercastellanus and P. mimicus.
The ornate cuscus or Molluccan cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found on the North Maluku islands of Halmahera, Bacan and Morotai, at elevations from sea level to 1000 m.
Rothschild's cuscus, also called the Obi Island cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the islands of Obi, Bisa and Obilatu in the Obi Islands of Maluku province, Indonesia.
The silky cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Stein's cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The black-spotted cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is among the largest members of the family, only being surpassed by the bear cuscus. It is a relatively colourful species found in forests of northern New Guinea. It is threatened by hunting and habitat loss, and has already disappeared from large parts of its range. Consequently, it is rated as Critically Endangered by IUCN.
The brushtail possums are the members of the genus Trichosurus in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are unique among marsupials for having shifted the hypaxial muscles from the epipubic to the pelvis, much like in placental muscles, meaning that their breathing cycle is more similar to the latter than to that of other non-eutherian mammals. In general, they are more terrestrially oriented than other possums, and in some ways might parallel primates.
The blue-eyed cuscus is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the two small islands of Ternate and Tidore, west of the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, Indonesia.
