Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum

Fascinating facts about the Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum

• Herbert River ringtails can stretch a prehensile tail up to 470 mm long, almost as long as a school ruler, while their bodies range from 301 mm to 400 mm. This tail acts like a fifth limb, letting them swing through the canopy. Their weight varies between 800 g and 1 530 g, meaning a full-grown male weighs about as much as a large loaf of bread.
• A Herbert River ringtail's diet is dominated by high-protein leaves, especially from pink ash (Alphitonia petriei) and several Eucalyptus species like pink bloodwood and cadaghi. Their selenodont teeth grind the foliage, and a massive caecum and colon host fermenting bacteria that break down the plant material. After fermentation the animal re-eats the first-cycle feces, extracting remaining nutrients.
• The species breeds twice a year, once in early winter and again in summer, and can produce two litters in a single mating season. Females carry their young in a pouch for about 10 weeks, then continue nursing for another 3 to 4 months, so a joey may stay dependent for up to half a year. Average litter size is two, with a range of one to three young.
• Global warming threatens the ringtail by pushing its cool-mountain habitat higher, shrinking the area they can occupy. Rising CO₂ changes tree metabolism, boosting tannin levels in leaves; tannins can block protein digestion and become toxic at high concentrations. Because the possum relies on protein-rich rainforest leaves, any drop in leaf quality could starve the species, making its dependence on pristine rainforest a vulnerability.
• These possums live mainly at an average elevation of 350 m (about 1 150 ft) in the dense rainforests of north-eastern Queensland, from Mount Lee west of Ingham to the Lamb Range west of Cairns. Their home ranges only 0.5 to 1 hectare of canopy.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Animal Diversity Web
• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum

In the misty dawn of Australia's tropical rainforests, the Herbert River Ring-tailed Possum emerges, its large, round eyes shining like lanterns as it navigates the labyrinthine canopy with ease, its slender, prehensile tail acting as a fifth limb to grasp and swing through the verdant expanse. With a soft, whispery call, it announces its presence, a gentle herald of its nocturnal wanderings, as it forages for leaves and fruits with delicate precision. As it moves, its plush, grey-brown fur blends seamlessly with the shadows, rendering it all but invisible, a true phantom of the forest.

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