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Trichosurus cunninghami was not described as a separate species from Trichosurus caninus until 2002.
Like other possums, Trichosurus cunninghami relies on sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Its whiskers enhance it's perception.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
The conservation status of Trichosurus cunninghami is of least concern, according to the IUCN, and populations are considered stable.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Mountain brushtail possums are sometimes described as a destructive pest in southeastern Australian pine plantations (IUCN Red List).
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Trichosurus cunninghami does not appear to be of positive economic importance to humans.
Mountain brushtail possums may influence vegetation community structure through their herbivory. Allergic reactions to ectoparasites on the skin may be one of the main causes of the disease 'rumpwear' in mountain brushtail possums (Hufschmid, Handasyde, and Beveridge, 2010).
Mountain brushtail possums are herbivorous and frugivorous. They mainly eat acacia leaves, fungi, lichens, buds, fruit, and sometimes bark. Acacia is an integral part of their seasonal diet, with different species of the plant consumed at different times of the year.
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; fruit; bryophytes; lichens
Other Foods: fungus
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Mountain brushtail possums, or southern bobucks, are native to southeastern Australia, ranging from Victoria to Central Queensland.
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
Mountain brushtail possums are semi-arboreal marsupials found in wet sclerophyll forests of southeastern Australia (Lindenmayer, Dubach, and Viggers, 2002). They usually live in above-ground dens (either tree hollows or nest boxes). A recent study by J.K. Martin found that adult bobucks use multiple den-trees. However, they also occasionally den in thick ground vegetation (Martin, 2006). Due to logging, farming, and other human activities, the primary habitat of most populations is now fragmented forest in agricultural land (Martin and Handasyde, 2007).
Range elevation: 0 to 1300 m.
Average elevation: 300-1300 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; scrub forest
Both male and female mountain brushtail possums appear to be long-lived, reaching at least 12 years of age. However, it appears as though fewer males reach that age than females (Martin and Handasyde, 2007). They are perhaps the longest lived marsupial (Viggers and Lindenmayer, 2002).
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 12 (high) years.
Mountain brushtail possums are medium-sized (2.6 to 4.2 kg) marsupials. They have thick, light gray-brown fur, and long, dark gray, bushy tails. They differ morphologically from their close relatives, short-eared possums (Trichosurus caninus), which is found directly to the north of mountain brushtail possums. No sexual dimorphism is apparent (Lindenmayer, Dubach, and Viggers, 2002).
Range mass: 2.5 to 4.5 kg.
Range length: 81 to 93 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Mountain brushtail possum predators have not been well-reported. They are preyed on by non-native foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and may also be taken by large snakes or raptors. The main threat to populations is human action – the clearance of land for forestry and agriculture.
Known Predators:
Mountain brushtail possums appear to be socially monogamous. Adults are strongly paired and remain very close to each other, staying in the same den on approximately 70% of the days during mating season. Females form a pair-bond at 2 to 5 years of age and the bonds only end at the death of one pair member. However, genetic evidence suggests that mountain brushtail possums are not monogamous; molecular paternity analysis has shown that 35% of young result from extra-pair copulations. Males that sired more than one offspring a year, outside of the pair bond, are generally larger, indicating that dominance results in reproductive success. Mountain brushtail possums have a short, synchronous breeding season. Females have one young per year. Young are in the pouch for approximately 6 months, and then spends 1 to 2 months riding on its mother’s back. Males play almost no part in raising the young (Martin, Handasyde, Taylor, and Coulson, 2007).
Mating System: monogamous ; polygynous
Mountain brushtail possums breed once yearly, in January and February. Offspring remain in the pouch for approximately 6 months and then ride on their mother’s back for another 1 to 2 months. Offspring are usually weaned around September. Juveniles remain close to their mothers until they are approximately 18 months old. Females become sexually mature between 2 and 5 years of age; males between 2 and 3 years (Martin, Handasyde, Taylor, and Coulson, 2007).
Breeding interval: Mountain brushtail possums breed once yearly.
Breeding season: The breeding season is January to February.
Range number of offspring: 0 to 1.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 15 to 17 days.
Range weaning age: 5 to 6 months.
Range time to independence: 17 to 18 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 to 5 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 to 3 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Most mountain brushtail possum females give birth to one baby a year. The offspring spend approximately 6 months in the pouch, then 1 to 2 months riding on the mother’s back. Males spend the least amount of time with their female partners when the females are carrying young on their back, and are therefore much less involved in the care of offspring. Juveniles remain with their mothers until they are approximately 18 months old.
Parental Investment: female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning
The mountain brushtail possum, or southern bobuck (Trichosurus cunninghami), is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae native to southeastern Australia. It was not described as a separate species until 2002.[3]
In 2002, based upon morphometric differences, the mountain brushtail possum, Trichosurus caninus, was proposed to be reclassified into two distinct species.[4] The northern form was to retain the binomial name T. caninus, but was henceforth to be known as the short-eared possum. The southern population, prevalent in the Victorian Alps, was to retain its already designated common name mountain brushtail possum, but assigned a new binomial, T. cunninghami. However, genetic divergence between T. caninus and the putative T. cunninghami may not support a case for the establishment of a new species.
In 2005, a colony of bobucks was discovered in swamp coastal habitat in south-west Gippsland, Victoria.[5] A follow-up biodiversity survey uncovered a widespread yet previously unrecorded population of bobucks in coastal habitat and parts of inland Gippsland.
In view of these findings, the currently accepted name, "mountain" brushtail possum, is no longer accurately descriptive. One suggestion is to rename the northern group as the "northern bobuck" and the Victorian animals as "southern bobuck", T. cunninghami.[6]
Both the mountain brushtail possum, T. cunninghami, and its cousin the short-eared possum, T. caninus, are generally reported to inhabit wet sclerophyll forest in south-eastern Australia along and to the south and east of the Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia from southern Victoria to south-eastern Queensland.[7][8] They typically dwell at altitudes greater than 300 metres.[9] Bobucks are medium-sized (2.5–4.5 kg),semi-arboreal, nocturnal marsupials.[8]
Habitat and dietary requirements of both the mountain brushtail possum and the short-eared possum are reported to be more specialised than those of their close relative the common brushtail possum, T. vulpecula.[10] As a result, the common brushtail possum has been able to colonise a greater variety of habitats than either of its bobuck relatives. For example, unlike common brushtails, bobucks are not known in urban areas and have been thought of as being obligately adapted to stable forest environments.[11]
During the day, the mountain brushtail possum dens in tree hollows (or sometimes in dense ground cover) and at night emerges to forage. In mountain country the mountain brushtail possum is reported to depend mainly upon Acacia species for its diet[12][13] and in particular the Silver Wattle, Acacia dealbata.[14] However, in lowland Gippsland there is no association of these animals with any particular type of vegetation: it is to be found in a variety of Eucalypt species stands or the Tea Tree. The mountain brushtail possum is known to feed at ground level[13][15][16] and they are able to utilise hypogeal and epigeal fungi as well as ground-level plants food resources.[13][16][17]
The mountain brushtail possum is also reported to require tree hollows for use as dens.[18] Indeed, both the easy availability of hollow-bearing trees and Silver Wattle are thought to determine the population density and distribution of the mountain brushtail possum in Victoria.[19]
The mountain brushtail possum shows little sexual dimorphism.[14] Mating occurs within a 2–3 week period during autumn (March–June). Female oestrus is highly synchronised, and most females will give birth to one offspring each year. Males do not appear to provide any care to the young. The young emerge from the pouch after several months and are then carried on the back of their mother. Over the summer (December to February), young begin to accompany their mothers on foot as a first step, as it were, to full independence. Neither males nor females will reproduce until they are at least two years of age. There is evidence that female offspring are often philopatric while young males have been found to disperse up to 8 km. Upon reaching reproductive maturity, the mountain brushtail possum will retain the same home range for life.
Its longevity is amazingly high: in fact it is perhaps the longest lived marsupial species.[20]
Recent research[14][21] indicates that the mating system of the mountain brushtail possum is variable. Intensive study of two mountain brushtail possum populations found that one of these populations was polygynous, while the other was monogamous. The two populations lived within 2 km of each other, yet the group dwelt in a linear habitat strip along a roadside that had escaped logging for over 100 years, whereas the monogamous population inhabited a forest patch that had been logged 40 years ago. To date it remains unclear whether this difference in mating system is because of the geographical shape of the habitat or the quality of its resources.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) The mountain brushtail possum, or southern bobuck (Trichosurus cunninghami), is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae native to southeastern Australia. It was not described as a separate species until 2002.
