Telefomin Cuscus

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iTelefomin Cuscus
Conservation status
Endangered (EN)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Marsupialia Order: Diprotodontia Family: Phalangeridae Genus: Phalanger Species: P. matanim
Binomial name
Phalanger matanim Flannery, 1987

The Telefomin Cuscus (Phalanger matanim) is a possum found on New Guinea.

It is named after the Telefol ethnic group, who knew the animal long before it was discovered scientifically by the Australian zoologist Tim Flannery. It lives in the oak forests along the Nong River in the middle of Papua New Guinea, at altitudes between 1500 and 2000m. After the drought and wildfires of 1997 these forests were destroyed, which probably made the species extinct.

[edit] References

• Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Phalanger matanim. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN B1+2e v2.3)
• Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 47. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.