Western Ringtail Possum
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| Western Ringtail Possum [1] | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis Thomas, 1888 |
The Western Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis), or Ngwayir, is an Australian possum, a subspecies of the Common Ringtail Possum (P. peregrinus).
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[edit] Description
The Western Ringtail has a head and body length of 320-400 mm, a tail length of 300-400 mm, and a weight of 820-1100 g. It has grey fur with white patches behind the ears and white underparts. It differs from the Common Ringtail Possum by lacking any rufous colouration. It has a long prehensile tail with a distinctive white tip.[3]
[edit] Distribution and habitat
The Western Ringtail is confined to south-western Western Australia where it is now reduced to patches of mainly eucalypt forest between Two Peoples Bay and the Collie River, with the most inland population at Perup. It is also found in gardens in the towns of Busselton and Albany.[3]
[edit] Behaviour
The Western Ringtail is an arboreal and nocturnal herbivore with a relatively small home range of 0.5-6 ha, dependant on habitat type. It uses tree hollows and builds dreys for shelter in tree canopies.[4]
[edit] Diet
Its diet includes leaves, fruit, flowers, bark and sap.[2] Favoured food trees are the Weeping Peppermint, the Jarrah, and the Marri.
[edit] Breeding
Births occur mainly in winter, usually of only one young. The young emerge from the pouch at about three months of age, when they weigh about 125 g, and suckle until they are 6-7 months old, weighing about 550 g.[4]
[edit] Conservation
The Western Ringtail has declined in abundance and range because of habitat destruction and Red Fox predation.[3] Current threats include ongoing habitat loss and predation by introduced species as well as altered wildfire regimes. It is classified by the IUCN as Vulnerable.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 51. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ a b c Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Pseudocheirus occidentalis. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- ^ a b c Menkhorst, Peter; & Knight, Frank. (2001). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia. Melbourne: OUP. ISBN 0-19-550870-X.
- ^ a b Naturebase documents: Western Ringtail Possum. Retrieved on [[2007-12-03]].
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