The long-tailed pygmy possum (Cercartetus caudatus ) is a diprotodont marsupial found in the rainforests of northern Australia and New Guinea (Western New Guinea (Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea). Living at altitudes of above 1,500 m, it eats insects and nectar, and may eat pollen in place of insects in the wild.
It is known as sumsum in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea.
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
Altricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables...
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starts withThe long-tailed pygmy possum has large eyes, mouse/rodent-like ears, a pouch that opens anteriorly, and a tail that is about one and a half times as long as the body, giving the possum its name.
Not much is known of this possum's behaviour, but what is known is that this species is both nocturnal and arboreal. In cold weather, it becomes torpid and looks and feels dead, but wakes at night. Not much is known on the origin of this torpor.
This species breeds twice a year. Females have one to four young born around January and February and sometimes a second litter from late August to early September. The young leave the nest when they are 45 days old.
They only grow up to 10 cm (3.9 in).
