Size:
Head & body length: 350mm
Tail Length: 350mm
Weight: 1kg
Identification: Small cat-sized possum with a silver-grey back,
rusty red flanks, face arm and legs. The ring-tailed possum has a thin
tail with a white tip.
Call/Song: Makes a soft, high- pitched, twittering call.
Distributed all along the east coast of Australia and the southern tip
of western Australia.
Habitat:
Found in a wide variety of habitats and vegetation types.
A nocturnal animal which is most active
for the first half of the night.
Movement:
Makes large use of its long tail when climbing around in trees.
The tail is used like an extra limb for grasping branches.
Feeding:
Consumes flowers (especially eucalypts) leaves and fruits.
Breeding/Nesting:
The ringtail possum usually creates a single male-female bond within its
home range and breeds April through November. |
Photo: Glenn Threlfo
Photo: QDEH
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Other Common Names: Grey Queensland ringtail, banga, rufous
ringtail, south-eastern ringtail, Tasmanian ringtail.
Status: Common.
Distribution:
Abundance:
Common
Cayley, N. W. & Strahan, R.(1987)
What
Mammal Is That?, Angus & Robertson Publishers, Australia.
Strahan, R.(ed.) (1983) The Australian
Museum Complete Book of Australian Mammals, Angus & Robertson Publishers,
Australia.
Queensland Museum
(1995) Wildlife of Greater Brisbane, Queensland Museum, Brisbane.
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