Colours
Distinguishing features
Their fur is soft and thick, and is fawn in colour over most of the body, fading to a pale grey on the underparts.
The snout is short with long whiskers, and the eyes are directed forwards and surrounded by slightly darker fur, although without the conspicuous black rings seen on other pygmy possums. The ears are mobile and largely hairless. The tail is prehensile, and thickly furred at the base, which may be widened by fat stores beneath the skin. The remainder of the tail is relatively narrow and cylindrical, with only sparse hair between numerous tiny scales. (Wikipedia)
Size
- Up to 7.5 cm (Body length)
- Up to 7.2 cm (Tail length)
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
The Tasmanian pygmy possum is found throughout Tasmania. It has also been found on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and further populations have since been discovered in the Murray-Darling basin in South Australia and Victoria.
They inhabit sclerophyll forest, mallee, and open heathland vegetation. They live primarily in shrubland or forest undergrowth, and, although good climbers, they rarely venture into the higher branches of trees. (Wikipedia)
Behaviour
They use strips of bark to construct dome-like nests in tree cavities or rotten wood, but are solitary animals that do not share their nests with other individuals except for their own young. (Wikipedia)
