Animal Info - Fergusson Island Striped Possum

(Other Name: Tate's Triok)

Dactylopsila tatei

Status: Endangered

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution)
3. Data on Biology and Ecology (Weight, Habitat, Diet, Behavior)
4. References

Profile

The Fergusson Island striped possum, a marsupial, weighs a little less than one half kg (1 lb). It probably inhabits lowland rainforest (Striped possums generally live in rainforest or sclerophyll forest.) The striped possum is thought to be nocturnal and arboreal and to occur mainly in lowland rainforest. It shelters by day in dry leaf nests in hollows and subsists on a diet that consists mainly of insects but also includes fruits and leaves.

The Fergusson Island striped possum is only known from Fergusson Island in the D'Entrecasteaux Group of islands north of the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea.

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1994: Endangered
1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: B1+2c) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Fergusson Island Striped Possum Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Papua New Guinea (Fergusson Island) (IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The Fergusson Island striped possum is only known from Fergusson Island in the D'Entrecasteaux Group of islands north of the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea.

Location Map (50 Kb JPEG) (SuperTravelNet.com)

Data on Biology and Ecology

Weight:

The Fergusson Island striped possum weighs 420 - 470 g (14.8 - 16.6 oz)

Habitat:

The Fergusson Island striped possum probably inhabits lowland rainforest. (Striped possums generally live in rainforest or sclerophyll forest.)

Diet:

The diet of the Fergusson Island striped possum consists mainly of insects but also includes fruits and leaves.

Behavior:

All members of this genus are specialized insectivores. They have an elongated fourth finger which they use to dig out insect larvae that have burrowed into wood. They also have a structure on the wrist that is apparently used to tap on wood in order to locate the insect larvae. (Flannery 1995) Striped possums generally are nocturnal and shelter by day in dry leaf nests in hollows. They are arboreal and are excellent climbers that seldom descend to the ground.

References

Flannery 1995, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Kennedy 1992, Macdonald 1984, Nowak 1999, Nowak & Paradiso 1983, SuperTravelNet.com, Terrambiente

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Last modified: January 5, 2005;