Cuscus

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Cuscus (/ˈkʌskʌs/ or /ˈksks/) is a common name given to the species belonging to four genera of Australasian possums in the family Phalangeridae: Ailurops, Phalanger, Spilocuscus, and Strigocuscus.[1] The name comes from the word kusu or kuso in some local related languages spoken in the Maluku Islands like Bacan and Ambonese Malay.[2] It is also applied in parts of Indonesia to the Sunda slow loris, where people do not distinguish this from the "kuskus" possums. The loris, being a primate, is unrelated to the other cuscus species. Cuscus are marsupials, even though they have some appearances, traits and attributes like those of lemurs of Madagascar, which are prosimians,[3] due to convergent evolution.

Cuscuses
Image Genus Species Ref.
Ailurops Wagler, 1830 [1]: 485–486 
Phalanger Storr, 1780 [1]: 489–493 
File:Spilocuscus maculatus 438490136.jpg Spilocuscus Gray, 1862 [1]: 495–497 
File:Kuskus Sulawesi (Strigocuscus celebensis).jpg Strigocuscus Gray, 1862 [1]: 486 

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ See:
    • Flannery, Tim (1995). Mammals of The South West Pacific and Moluccan Islands. Sydney: Australian Museum.
    • van der Zon, A.P.M (1979). Mamalia of Indonesia. UNDP-FAO Park Development Project.
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).