Cuscus
The Cuscus is a subspecies to the possum and is considered the largest of the world's possum species. It is native to the Northern forest of Australia, as well as the Tropical Island of New Guinea. When the Cuscus begins to overheat it pants in order to cool itself down, while at moderate temperatures it simply licks itself to keep cool, as well as clean[1]. The Cuscus is similar to the Sloth, especially in it's fur coating.
| Cuscus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Common spotted cuscus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Subclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Phalangeridae in part |
Genus | |
| |
Cuscus (/ˈkʌskʌs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/) is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum:
- Ailurops
- Phalanger
- Spilocuscus
- Strigocuscus
The name is also applied in parts of Indonesia to the Sunda slow loris, where people do not distinguish this from the "kuskus" possums. Note however, that the loris, being a primate, is unrelated to the other cuscus species, which are marsupials.
References
- http://a-z-animals.com/animals/cuscus/
This article about a diprotodont is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
^ Dawson, Terence J.; Degabriele, Robert (1973). "The cuscus (Phalanger maculatus) ? a marsupial sloth?". Journal of Comparative Physiology. 83 (1): 41–50. doi:10.1007/bf00694571. ISSN 0340-7594..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
