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Lemuroid Ringtail Possum
Photo: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey
BSc.(Zool) Biologist Guide
Lemuroid Ringtail Possum: (Hemibelideus
lumuroides)
- Woolly grey dorsal side, brownish tinge on the shoulders with a yellowish
tinge on the underside.
- Tail is bushy, only slightly tapered with a short finger-like, bare tip.
- It has a short face with a bright yellow eye shine.
- Leaps onto foliage.
- Sparse and limited in distribution.
- Adults of both sexes have a strong musky odour produced by a sticky
cream-coloured fluid that is often excreted from the vent when the animal is handled.
Habitat:
- Invariably arboreal. Lives in the rainforest at about four hundred and fifty
metres altitude.
- Strictly nocturnal, its days are spent in tree hollows.
- The Lemuroid Ringtail Possum has a leap of two to three metres, which is made
from one branch tip to another. Legs outstretched, it lands heavily on dense foliage.
Diet:
- It is almost exclusively a leaf eater, feeding specifically on the foliage of
the families Lauraceae (e.g. Queensland Maple), Elaeocapaceae (e.g Brown
Quandong) and Rutaceae (e.g. Bollywood).
- Flowers of the Brown Bollywood and the fleshy outer covering of the Yellow
Walnut.
Social Behaviour:
- These animals are frequently seen in groups of two or in family groups of three.
- Up to three individuals may share a den.
- Feeding aggregations of eight individuals have been recorded.
Viewing Opportunities:
- The Lemuroid Ringtail Possums tend to stay in rainforests above 900 metres.
- They can be viewed with spotlights in the Crater National Park.
Additional Information:
Courtesy of
Damon Ramsey
'Lemuroid Ringtail Possum', Hemibelideus lemuroides
The Lemuroid Possums are usually
fairly dark possums with no real distinguishing colours, being greyish brown
with thick, furry tails. Their most distinctive feature is probably their bright
yellow eye-shine. They are restricted to upland tropical rainforest in
north-east Queensland, where they are often seen very high up in the canopy. In
the right habitat, they can be locally common. They are the only rainforest
possum that regularly hangs out in groups.
Script: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey BSc.(Zool) Biologist Guide
Additional Information:
- These possums are also known as Brush-tipped Ringtail Possums and
Lemur like
Ringtail Possums.
- Their average weight is 810-1270g.
- Usually only one young is reared, but there are 2 teats in the pouch. Breeding
season is more restricted than that of other rainforest ringtails.
- Pouch young have been recorded from August to November, and seen riding on their
mothers’ backs from October to April.
- If a young possum is separated from its mother, it will signal its distress with
a thin, high-pitched hissing squeak.
- When spotlighting, densities of 2 to 5 per hour are common but up to 10 per hour
have been recorded at altitudes of 900-1200m.
- While Carpet Pythons are known threats to the Lemuroid Ringtail Possums,
rainforest clearing is the greatest problem. It seems to be the least able of rainforest
possums to survive in remnant patches of forests. Their status is sparse and limited.
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