Western Ringtail Possum

Taxobox
name = Western Ringtail Possum MSW3 Groves | pages = 51]


status = VU
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = IUCN2008|assessors=Morris, K., Burbidge, A. & Friend, T., A.|year=2008|id=18492|title=Pseudocheirus occidentalis|downloaded=09 October 2008 Listed as Vulnerable(VU B1ab(ii,iii,v) v3.1)]
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
infraclassis = Marsupialia
ordo = Diprotodontia
familia = Pseudocheiridae
genus = "Pseudocheirus"
species = "P. peregrinus"
subspecies = "P. p. occidentalis"
trinomial = "Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis"
trinomial_authority = Thomas, 1888

The Western Ringtail Possum ("Pseudocheirus peregrinus occidentalis"), or Ngwayir, is an Australian possum, a subspecies of the Common Ringtail Possum ("P. peregrinus").

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.cite book | author = Menkhorst, Peter; & Knight, Frank. | year = 2001 | title = A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia | publisher = OUP | location = Melbourne | id = ISBN 0-19-550870-X]

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.

Behaviour

The Western Ringtail is an arboreal and nocturnal herbivore with a relatively small home range of 0.5-6 ha, dependent on habitat type. It uses tree hollows and builds dreys for shelter in tree canopies.cite web | url = http://www.naturebase.net/dmdocuments/sp_western_ringtail_possum.pdf | title = Naturebase documents: Western Ringtail Possum | accessdate = 2007-12-03]

Diet

Its diet includes leaves, fruit, flowers, bark and sap. Favoured food trees are the Weeping Peppermint, the Jarrah, and the Marri.

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.

Conservation

The Western Ringtail has declined in abundance and range because of habitat destruction and Red Fox predation. 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.

References