Critically Endangered
Black-spotted cuscus
Spilocuscus rufoniger
Black-spotted cuscus is a mammal in the family Phalangeridae (order Diprotodontia) — Spilocuscus rufoniger, recorded as Critically Endangered and tied to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Appearance
Both adult males and females exhibit red and black fur that is dense and woolly. Even so, females are bigger and have a uniformly dark, saddle-like coloration, while males have spotty colorations. The pelages of the young transform through a series of colors during maturation.
Adult black-spotted cuscuses weigh approximately 6 to 7 kg (13 to 15 lb) on average. Typically, they are 120 cm in length, with the head and body measuring approximately 70 cm, and the tail measuring 50 cm.
Range and habitat
The black-spotted cuscus is indigenous to the island of New Guinea. It dwells in undisturbed lower-montane, tropical, primary forests and lowland areas of thick brushwood below 1200 meters in elevation. Black-spotted cuscuses have been located in secondary forests as well.
International trade has also inhibited the biodiversity on the island of Papua New Guinea.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet
Being nocturnal creatures, they rest in a curled position on high branches throughout the day. Naturally, they are sluggish creatures with predominantly solitary lifestyles.
In addition, they feed upon fruits, leaves, nuts. Courting is typically performed on tree limbs.
In crisis
It is threatened by hunting and habitat loss, and has already disappeared from large parts of its range. Consequently, it is rated as Critically Endangered by IUCN. This was until its status was changed to "Vulnerable" in 1994 and then to "Endangered" in 1996.
According to the IUCN, the black-spotted cuscus has been classified as Critically Endangered since 2010. The population of this species is drastically declining due to human disruptions.
Black-spotted cuscus is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Black-spotted cuscus, Wikidata item Q209570. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
