Admiralty Island cuscus

Admiralty Island cuscus[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Phalangeridae
Genus: Spilocuscus
Species: S. kraemeri
Binomial name
Spilocuscus kraemeri
(Schwartz, 1910)
Admiralty Island cuscus range

The Admiralty Island cuscus or Manus Island spotted cuscus (Spilocuscus kraemeri) is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae. It is endemic to the Admiralty Islands of Papua New Guinea.[2] It is the smallest member of the genus Spilocuscus, and the female has a black back, while the male has blackish spots on a white background. Both genders have rufous heads.

Listed as Near Threatened because, although it is common within its small range (its extent of occurrence is less than 2,000 km2), there is continuing decline in both quality of habitat and numbers of individuals, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable under criterion B. The increasing human population pressures and the low fecundity of this relatively long-lived animal are cause for concern. Populations of this species should be closely monitored.

References

  1. Groves, C.P. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 48. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
  2. 1 2 Helgen, K., Leary, T., Singadan, R., Menzies, J. & Wright, D. (2008). Spilocuscus kraemeri. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 28 December 2008.


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