Cercartetus
Genus of marsupials
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The genus Cercartetus is a group of very small possums known as pygmy possums. Four species comprise this genus, which together with the genus Burramys make up the marsupial family Burramyidae.[1]
| Cercartetus Temporal range: Late Pleistocene - Recent | |
|---|---|
| |
| Cercartetus nanus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Burramyidae |
| Genus: | Cercartetus Gloger, 1841 |
| Type species | |
| Phalangista nana Desmarest, 1818 | |
| Species | |
| |
It has occasionally been presumed that Cercaërtus was a misspelling or synonym of Cercartetus.[2][3] However, the name Cercaërtus is a junior synonym of Trichosurus and not of Cercartetus.[4][5][6][7]
Conservation International (CI) and the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI) reported on the possible discovery of a new species of Cercartetus pygmy possum upon visit to the Foja Mountains in June 2007.[8]
Species
- Genus Cercartetus
- Long-tailed pygmy possum, Cercartetus caudatus
- Southwestern pygmy possum, Cercartetus concinnus
- Tasmanian pygmy possum, Cercartetus lepidus
- Eastern pygmy possum, Cercartetus nanus
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