Family PHALANGERIDAE

(CUSCUSES, BRUSH-TAILED

POSSUMS AND SCALY-TAILED POSSUM)

• Smallto medium-sized arboreal marsupials; soft and woolly fur and dense underfur; often varied color patterns between sexes; round heads with short rostra, naked rhinaria, and forward-directed eyes; strongly prehensile tails.

• 60-120 cm.

• Australasian Region.

• Lowland, montane, and tropical rainforests to sclerophyll forests and woodlands.

• 6 genera, 29 species, 43 taxa.

• 4 species Critically Endangered, 2 species Endangered, 3 species Vulnerable; none Extinct since 1600.