![]() I have vivid memories of spotlighting for tree kangaroos. The species is named after the Norwegian explorer who was the first European to record a specimen in 1883, however, the local indigenous name for the species was likely “ mabi” or “ mapi.” Lumholtz’s is the (relatively) more common species, found in remnant forests of the Atherton Tablelands. ![]() At some point around 8 million years ago, one of those ground-dwelling kangaroos gradually returned to the treetops. That species ventured onto the ground and evolved into the myriad array of terrestrial marsupials we see today. So why did the kangaroo climb the tree? Based on the fossil evidence, evolutionary biologists think that all marsupials in Australia and New Guinea - including kangaroos - evolved from a tree-dwelling, possum-like ancestor. Kangaroos are famous for their bouncing gait, which is a decidedly terrestrial form of locomotion. As many as 12 additional species are found in New Guinea - scientists are still unraveling exactly which are species vs subspecies - most of which are threatened or endangered. They’re both found in small, isolated patches of tropical forest in north-eastern Queensland. © Michael Eisen / Wikimedia CommonsĪustralia has two species of arboreal kangaroo: Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo and Bennett’s tree-kangaroo. Their limited range makes them vulnerable to threats like land clearing and climate change.ĭendrolagus lumholtzi & Dendrolagus bennettianus A Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo with its joey. Green ringtails are found in a tiny area of rainforest in north-eastern Queensland, around the Atherton Tablelands. The result is a bug-eyed, round ball of fluff that’s adorable and very difficult to spot. A green ringtail will grip the tree branch tightly with its hind paws, and then curl forwards so its face and forepaws are tucked down into its stomach, and then wrap its tail over its face. Instead, they spend the daylight hours curled up in a tight little ball high in the canopy. Unlike other possum species, green ringtails don’t roost in tree hollows or build dreys. Their thick coat is made up of black, white and yellow hairs, which when combined creates a mottled green color that helps them blend into the forest canopy and avoid predators. This chonky little possum just might be my favorite Australian marsupial.Īustralia is home to several species of ringtail possum, all of which have prehensile tails that they use to cling to tree branches. Pseudochirops archeri A green ringtail possum in the Atherton Tablelands. Their population had declined by about 80 percent in just 20 years, largely due to habitat loss and fragmentation caused by the clearing of old-growth forests and bushfires exacerbated by climate change. Greater gliders are considered a vulnerable species nationally and endangered in Queensland. Their long, prehensile tail helps them balance, and they can grip tree branches with their sharp claws and opposable thumbs. By day they hide out in tree hollows, with some individuals maintaining as many as 20 dens. Greater gliders are nocturnal, traveling from tree to tree in the dark in search of their preferred food, eucalyptus leaves. The tail helps steer the descent as they glide up to 100 meters at a time. Unlike other gliding mammals, which soar by splaying all four limbs in an X shape, greater gliders form a triangle shape with their hind-legs outstretched and their front legs tucked up under their chin. The greater gliders use a membrane between their legs to “glide” from one tree to the next. (They can hybridize where their ranges overlap.) The species vary in color, from white, to dark brown, to shades of grey. Once thought to be a single species, scientists now recognize three species of greater glider - northern, central, and southern - each with separate geographic ranges. The greater glider is one of those animals that looks like a cartoon come to life. A greater glider clambers along a eucalyptus limb.
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