| Bear cuscuses[1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sulawesi bear cuscus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Phalangeridae |
| Subfamily: | Ailuropinae |
| Genus: | Ailurops Wagler, 1830 |
| Type species | |
| Phalangista ursina Temminck, 1824 | |
| Species | |
Thebear cuscuses are the members of the genusAilurops.[1] They aremarsupials of the familyPhalangeridae.[1]
The bear cuscuses arearboreal marsupials. Almost nothing is known of their status and ecology.[2][3] Although some scientists assign all populations to one species,A. ursinus, others placemelanotis as its own species.[1] The genus is distinct, though, and some authorities place it within its own subfamily,Ailuropinae.[1]
They are found only inIndonesia onSulawesi and some smaller nearby islands that arebiogeographically part ofWallacea, which from a faunal standpoint is intermediate between theAustralian andIndomalayan realms. It is hypothesized that the isolation of the bear cuscuses on the island of Sulawesi in theMiocene accounts for the animal's morphological divergence from the rest of the family Phalangeridae.[citation needed]
The genus contains the following species:[1]
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