CUSCUSES OF SULAWESI | Facts and Details

CUSCUSES

Cuscus is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum in the family Phalangeridae. 1) bear cuscuses (genus Ailurops); 2) genus Phalanger, whose members are found on New Guinea, the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, other nearby small islands, and Australia's Cape York Peninsula; 3) genus Spilocuscus, whose members are found on Cape York, New Guinea, and smaller nearby islands; and 4) dwarf cuscus (genus Strigocuscus), found only in Sulawesi and some of its surrounding small offshore islands. [Source: Wikipedia]

Cuscus live in tropical areas and spend of their time in trees. They are marsupials, even though they have some appearances, traits and attributes like those of lemurs of Madagascar, which are prosimians, due to convergent evolution.

The cuscus name comes from the word kusu or kuso in some local related languages spoken in the Maluku Islands like Bacan and Ambonese Malay. The name is also applied in parts of Indonesia to the Sunda slow loris, where people do not distinguish this from the "kuskus" possums. Lorises are primates and are unrelated to the other cuscus species.

Bear Cuscuses

Bear cuscuses (Ailurops ursinus) are found only on Sulawesi and the Talaut Islands of Indonesia. They are arboreal marsupials that live in the upper canopy of lowland tropical rainforests. Sulawesi is a large, strange-shaped island south of the Philippines, southeast of Borneo and northeast of Java. [Source: Tawny Seaton, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Bear cuscuses are the most primitive and plesiomorphic (with feature from a common ancestor). of all phalangerids (cuscuses, brushtail possums of to Australia, New Guinea, and Eastern Indonesia. They have been placed in a separate subfamily, Ailuropinae. Based on the animals' morphological divergence from the rest of Phalangeridae family, it has been hypothesized that bear cuscuses were isolated on Sulawesi when the island first emerged in the Miocene Period (23 million to 5.3 million years ago),

range of the Sulawesi bear cuscus

Almost nothing is known of the status and ecology of bear cuscuses. Although some scientists assign all populations to one species, A. ursinus, others place melanotis as its own species. The genus is distinct, though, and some authorities place it within its own subfamily, Ailuropinae. They are biogeographically part of Wallacea, which from a faunal standpoint is intermediate between the Australian and Indomalayan realms. The genus contains two species: 1) the Sulawesi bear cuscus (Ailurops ursinus), found on Sulawesi, Peleng Island, Muna Island, Butung Island and the Togian Islands; and 2) the Talaud bear cuscus (Ailurops melanotis) found on Salebabu Island in the Talaud Islands. [Source: Wikipedia]

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List bear cuscuses are listed as Vulnerable. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. Although not sought-after all that much for food, their meat is still commonly found in markets in Indonesia. Probably the greatest threat to these animals is habitat loss. Hunting greatly threatens them because they have low reproductive rate. When females are killed they sometimes have young in their pouch and they often die too. Bear cuscuses have protected status in Indonesia. /=\

Bear Cuscus Characteristics and Diet

Bear cuscuses have a short face, piercing dark brown eyes and short, furry ears. Their head and body length can reach 1.2 meters (3.94 feet). Their average weight is seven kilograms (15.42 pounds). Their fur is composed of a fine, wiry underfur and coarse guard hairs. According to Animal Diversity Web: Coloration ranges from black to grey to brown with a lighter colored belly and tips of extremities, with variation depending on geographic location and age of the animal. [Source: Tawny Seaton, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

The prehensile, unfurred tail is half of the total body length and is used in conjunction with the forefeet (which have two opposable digits) and syndactylous hindfeet (with fuses toes) to move between trees. Being the most primitive of all phalangerids, bear cuscuses primitive dentition and cranial features like that of the common ancestor of phalangerids.

Sulawesi bear cuscus (Ailurops ursinus)

Bear cuscuses are primarily folivores (eat leaves) but can also be classified as herbivores (primarily eat plants or plants parts)Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, unripe fruit, flowers and buds. Bear cuscuses eats the leaves of many different tree species, but three — make up half of the total diet. They like tree leaves (Garuga floribunda, Melia azedarach, Dracontomelum dao) and mistletoe leaves (Cananga odorata, Palaquium amboinense). Young leaves are preferred, probably because they are easier to digest and contain fewer toxins. However, bear cuscuses prefers mature leaves of mistletoes, which have more protein than the young leaves. They unripe fruit they eat contains more protein than ripe fruit. /=\

Bear Cuscus Behavior and Reproduction

Bear cuscuses are arboreal (live mainly in trees), scansorial (able to or good at climbing), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), territorial (defend an area within the home range), and social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups). They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. [Source: Tawny Seaton, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Bear cuscuses tends to live in pairs or groups of three to four. They move slowly from tree to tree using their prehensile tail and grasping forefeet. A great proportion of the day is spent resting or sleeping, with little time devoted to feeding and grooming and even less to social interactions. It has been hypothesized that activity is spread throughout the day and night, with periods of rest between feeding or other activity. Leaves, their main food source, contain low nutrient levels and the resting periods may be necessary to digest the cellulose. /=\

The mating system and behavior of bear cuscuses is unknown. Female give birth one or two times a year. The number of offspring ranges from one to two. The average weaning age is eight months. Parental care is provided by females. As is the case with most marsupials young are extremely altricial (born underdeveloped and are unable to feed or care for themselves for a period of time) and develop in their mother's pouch. After eight months, development is sufficient to allow survival, although the young remains with the mother for an additional period. It is unknown at what age Bear cuscuses reaches developmental maturity. /=\

Sulawesi Dwarf Cuscuses

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses (Strigocuscus celebensis) are sometimes called little Celebes cuscuses. Endemic to Sulawesi and nearby islands, they are arboreal marsupial in the family Phalangeridae[ that are nocturnal, eat mostly leaves and are usually found in pairs. They are threatened by hunting and deforestation. [Source: Wikipedia +]

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses occurs in rainforests and in secondary forests and gardens around human dwellings in suburban and agricultural areas. It is not known how long they live but other species of cuscus are known to live three to 11 years in captivity. [Source: Brittany Moe, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Sulawesi dwarf cuscus range

Owing to the unique biogeography of Sulawesi, which has several sub-regions which produce different species, it is likely that there are several different species or subspecies as yet to be described by science. Thus far the genus Strigocuscus contains the following species: Sulawesi dwarf cuscus (Strigocuscus celebensis) and Banggai cuscus (Strigocuscus pelengensis), found in the Peleng and Sula Islands the east of Sulawesi. +

On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are listed as Vulnerable. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are an important source of meat for some local people and are widely hunted but on the Sula Islands in the Western Moluccas they are not eaten in accordance with religious beliefs. They are sometimes kept as household pets but are also regarded as pest as they are sometimes be found in suburban areas and eat garden plants are nest under roofs. /=\

Sulawesi Dwarf Cuscus Characteristics

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are small possums. Their average weight is one kilograms (2.2 pounds). Their head and body length ranges from 29.4 to 38 centimeters (11.6 to 15 inches). Their tail length is 27 to 37.3 centimeters (10,6 inches to 14.7 inches) long Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is not present: Both sexes are roughly equal in size and look similar.[Source: Brittany Moe, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Sulawesi dwarf cuscus

Brittany Moe wrote in Animal Diversity Web (ADW): Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses have an overall pale buff coloration, lacking a dorsal stripe, and the tail is partially naked part. The rostrum (hard, beak-like structures projecting out from the head or mouth) is narrower than other phalangerids, the lachrymal (bone forming the eye socket) is retracted from the face, the ectotympanic (bone near the ears) is almost totally excluded from the anterior face of the postglenoid process, and the third upper premolar is set at a more oblique angle relative to the molar row than it is in other phalangerids. Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are also characterized by the large size of the third upper premolar, a widening of the zygomatic arches at the orbits, and short paroccipital processes.

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are herbivores (primarily eat plants or plants parts) but are believed to be primarily frugivorous (fruit eating), based on their morphology and the diet of other cuscuses. Among the plant foods they eat are leaves, roots, tubers, wood, bark, stems, seeds, grains, nuts, fruit, pollen and flowers. They also eat fungus. /=\

Sulawesi Dwarf Cuscus Behavior, Communication and Reproduction

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are arboreal (live mainly in trees), scansorial (able to or good at climbing), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area), territorial (defend an area within the home range), and social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups). Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses often occur in male-female pairs. They are known to sleep in the crowns of coconut palms and occurs with with Sulawesi bear cuscuses. Males of most cuscus species are aggressive toward one another and cannot be kept together in captivity.[Source: Brittany Moe, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses communicate with chemicals usually detected by smelling and sense using vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected with smell. Little is known about their communication methods but like most nocturnal mammals they are likely to use smelled chemical cues and hearing to move around and find food Cuscuses have large eyes to help them see in low light./=\

Sulawesi dwarf cuscuses are monogamous (have one mate at a time) and occur in pairs. They generally produce one to two litters per year; up to three or four young may be born, but only one is usually reared. The average gestation period is only 20 days or even less. Young are very altricial, meaning they are born relatively underdeveloped and are unable to feed or care for themselves or move independently for a period of time after birth. /=\

Young are born very small and unfurred. Females have a forward-oriented pouch and two to four teats. Pre-weaning and pre-independence provisioning and protecting are done by females. The age at which young are weaned ranges from five to eight months. They stay in their mother's pouch during this time, after which they are carried on their mother’s back.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated January 2025