Strigocuscus

Strigocuscus celebensis

The Bodenkuskus ( Strigocuscus ) is a marsupial genus of the family of climbing Beutler ( Phalangeridae ).

The fur of these animals is colored gray or reddish brown at the top, the underside is lighter. As with many climbing marsupials of small, round head, small ears, large, forward-facing eyes and the thick, woolly fur are characteristic. The first two fingers of the front paws are opponierbar, the tail can be used as a prehensile tail. Bodenkuskus reach a body length 29-38 cm, a tail length from 25 to 37 inches and a weight of around 1.1 kg.

Bodenkuskus live on Sulawesi ( Celebes ) and offshore islands. You have now besides the Bärenkuskus the westernmost area of ​​distribution of all marsupials. Their habitat are predominantly woods, where they usually reside on the trees. They are nocturnal and may live together in pairs. Their diet should consist mainly of fruits and leaves.

There are two living species:

• Strigocuscus celebensis lives on Celebes and neighboring small islands such as Sangihe and Siau.
• Strigocuscus pelengensis is endemic to two small islands east of Celebes, Peleng and Taliabu.

In addition, two extinct species, S. and S. notialis reidi known.

The systematics of this genus is disputed. Three other species, S. Rothschildi, S. ornatus and S. gymnotis, are now classified more in Phalanger, in earlier work, we find the whole genre nor in the cuscus ( Phalanger ). According to recent studies, the Bodenkuskus but could be more closely related to the possums.