Phalanger (from the Greek phalangion, meaning spider's web, from their webbed (fused) toes[1]) is a genus of possums. Its members are found on New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, other nearby small islands, and Australia's Cape York Peninsula. They are marsupials of the family Phalangeridae,[2] and are one of the four genera whose species are commonly referred to as cuscuses.

Phalanger
Phalanger gymnotis at Cotswold Wildlife Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Phalangeridae
Subfamily: Phalangerinae
Tribe: Phalangerini
Genus: Phalanger
Storr, 1780
Type species
Didelphis orientalis
Pallas, 1766
Species

13, see text

References

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  1. ^ Chambers English Dictionary
  2. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). "Genus Phalanger". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 46–48. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
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