Critically Endangered
Mountain pygmy possum
Burramys parvus
The mountain pygmy possum, also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs 45 grams (1.6 oz)) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mount Kosciuszko in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales at elevations from 1,300 to 2,230 metres (4,270 to 7,320 ft).
Appearance
Pygmy possums are covered in a layer of fine, dense fur. Their pelage is greyish-brown on the dorsal side, with a darker stripe along the midline of the back, and a pale cream colour on the ventral side. Its body is covered in a thick coat of fine grey fur except for its stomach, that is cream coloured. Its tail is hairless.
The mountain pygmy possum has an average weight of approximately 45 g (1.6 oz) and an average head and body length of 110 mm (4.3 in). The mountain pygmy possum has a long prehensile tail, averaging about 140 mm (5.5 in) in length, that is sparsely haired.
Range and habitat
The mountain pygmy possum is endemic to the alpine regions of southern Australia. The species is currently restricted to three isolated mountain regions: (1) Mount Blue Cow in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, (2) Mount Bogong and Mount Higginbotham/Loch in the Bogong High Plains in Victoria, and (3) Mount Buller in Victoria. The typical home ranges within these mountain ranges differ for males and females.
In addition, bogong moths are rich in protein and fat and they provide mountain pygmy possums with the necessary energy reserves to sustain the seven-month hibernation period.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
Mountain pygmy possums prefer to feed on bogong moths that make up about a third of their diet. This moth species (Agrotis infusa) migrates to the high alpine mountainous regions during the spring and summer months.
Burramys parvis species will supplement their diet with the mountain plum pine from the fruit-bearing conifer Podocarpus lawrencei as well as seeds from the snow beard-heaths Leucopogon spp. And blackberry Rubus spp. Mountain pygmy possums are nocturnal creatures, preferring to sleep during the day and forage at night. The breeding season typically occurs during the Austral spring months of October and November.
In crisis
The mountain pygmy possum, also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs 45 grams (1.6 oz)) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mount Kosciuszko in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales at elevations from 1,300 to 2,230 metres (4,270 to 7,320 ft). Since 2008, the mountain pygmy possum has been declared by the IUCN Red List as critically endangered. Population estimates totalled fewer than 2000 individuals from the three combined isolated populations in 2000.
Current population estimates indicate that these numbers have severely declined in the last decade. As of 2007, the number of females recorded at Mount Blue Cow had Kosciuszko National Park with a total of 60 individuals.
Mountain pygmy possum 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 Mountain pygmy possum, Wikidata item Q819469. 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.
