Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Strigo­cus­cus celeben­sis oc­curs ex­clu­sively on Su­lawesi and sur­round­ing is­lands. Sub­species of S. celeben­sis occur through­out this range: S. c. celeben­sis is found in south­ern and cen­tral Su­lawesi, S. c. fei­leri is found in north Su­lawesi, and S. c. san­giren­sis is found on the Sangihe Is­lands north of Su­lawesi. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994; Groves, 1987; Ruedas and Morales, 2005)

• Biogeographic Regions
• australian
  • native

• Other Geographic Terms
• island endemic

Habi­tat

Strigo­cus­cus celeben­sis oc­curs in rain­forests and in sec­ondary forests and gar­dens around human dwellings. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994; Nowak, 1999)

• Habitat Regions
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest
• rainforest

• Other Habitat Features
• suburban
• agricultural

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses have an over­all pale buff col­oration, lack­ing a dor­sal stripe, and the tail is par­tially naked part. They are small pos­sums, weigh­ing 1 kg or less. Head and body length is 294 to 380 mm and tail length is 270 to 373 mm. The ros­trum is nar­rower than other pha­lan­gerids, the lachry­mal is re­tracted from the face, the ec­to­tym­panic 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. Lit­tle Celebes 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. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994; Nowak, 1999)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

• Average mass

  1 kg

  2.20 lb

• Range length

  294 to 380 mm

  11.57 to 14.96 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses are monog­a­mous and occur in pairs. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994; Nowak, 1999)

• Mating System
• monogamous

Fe­male S. celeben­sis have a for­ward-ori­ented pouch with two to four teats. Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses gen­er­ally pro­duce one to two lit­ters per year, up to three to four young may be born, but only one is usu­ally reared. Ges­ta­tion is 20 days or less and young are born very small and un­furred. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• viviparous

• Breeding interval

  Little Celebes cuscuses generally produce one to two litters per year.

• Range number of offspring

  1 to 4

• Average number of offspring

  1

• Average gestation period

  20 days

• Range weaning age

  5 to 8 months

In­fant S. celeben­sis exit their mother's pouch be­tween five and eight months after birth, after which they are car­ried on their mother’s back. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

The lifes­pan of S. celeben­sis is un­known. Other species of cus­cus are known to live 3 to 11 years in cap­tiv­ity. ("Cus­cus", 2006; "Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994; Nowak, 1999)

Be­hav­ior

Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses are noc­tur­nal and ar­bo­real, and have been known to occur in male-fe­male pairs. They are known to sleep in the crowns of co­conut palms. Strigo­cus­cus celeben­sis oc­curs in sym­pa­try with Su­lawesi bear cus­cuses (Ail­urops ursi­nus) on the is­land of Su­lawesi and sur­round­ing is­lands. Males of most cus­cus species are ag­gres­sive to­ward one an­other and can­not be kept to­gether in cap­tiv­ity. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Dwiyahreni, et al., 1999; Flan­nery, 1994; Nowak, 1999)

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal
• scansorial
• nocturnal
• motile
• sedentary
• territorial
• social

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Lit­tle is known about com­mu­ni­ca­tion in Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses. Like most noc­tur­nal mam­mals they are likely to use chem­i­cal cues (smells) and hear­ing ex­ten­sively. Cus­cuses have large eyes to help them see in low light. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994; Nowak, 1999)

• Communication Channels
• chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses are pre­sumed to be pri­mar­ily fru­giv­o­rous, based on their mor­phol­ogy and the diet of other cus­cuses. Other species of cus­cus in­clude leaves, fruits, flow­ers, bark, pollen, and fungi in their diets. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; "Pos­sums and cus­cuses", 2006; Flan­nery, 1994)

• Primary Diet
• herbivore
  • frugivore

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• roots and tubers
• wood, bark, or stems
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit
• pollen
• flowers

• Other Foods
• fungus

Pre­da­tion

Lit­tle in­for­ma­tion is known on pos­si­ble preda­tors of S. celeben­sis. It is as­sumed they have a lim­ited num­ber due to their ar­bo­real lifestyle. Other species of cus­cus are eaten by hu­mans and New Guinea singing dogs. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; "Other Crea­tures at the Cen­ter", 2000; Flan­nery, 1994)

• Known Predators

  • humans Homo sapiens
  • New Guinea singing dogs Canis lupus hallstromi

Ecosys­tem Roles

Be­cause of their fru­giv­o­rous diet S. celeben­sis help the ecosys­tem by dis­pers­ing seeds. ("Cus­cus", 2006; "Pos­sums and cus­cuses", 2006; Dwiyahreni, et al., 1999)

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses are an im­por­tant source of meat for peo­ple in New Guinea and are widely hunted. In some areas of In­done­sia, such as the Sula Is­lands in the West­ern Moluc­cas, cus­cuses are not eaten in ac­cor­dance with re­li­gious be­liefs. Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses help to dis­perse fruit­ing tree seeds. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Flan­nery, 1994)

• Positive Impacts
• food

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Lit­tle Celebes cus­cuses are some­times con­sid­ered house­hold pests. They tend to be found in sub­ur­ban areas and are known to eat plants from gar­dens and to nest in roofs. ("Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia", 2004; Nowak, 1999; Wikipedia, 2006)

• Negative Impacts
• crop pest
• household pest

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

The sta­tus of S. celeben­sis is un­cer­tain. Ac­cord­ing to IUCN S. celeben­sis is data de­fi­cient, there is not enough in­for­ma­tion to de­ter­mine pop­u­la­tion sta­tus. ("Aus­tralasian Mar­su­pial & Monotreme Spe­cial­ist Group 1996. Strigo­cus­cus celeben­sis. In: IUCN 2006.", 1996)

• IUCN Red List

  Vulnerable
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Vulnerable
  More information

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

• State of Michigan List

  No special status

Other Com­ments

For a de­tailed analy­sis of mi­to­chon­dr­ial DNA of S. celeben­sis see the work of Ruedas and Morales (2005). For a de­tailed analy­sis of mor­pho­log­i­cal and skele­tal analy­sis of S. celeben­sis see the work of Crosby and Nor­ris (2003). For a de­tailed analy­sis of mu­seum study skins and skele­tons of S. celeben­sis and its sub­species see the work of Groves (1987). (Crosby and Nor­ris, 2003; Groves, 1987; Ruedas and Morales, 2005)

Con­trib­u­tors

Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Brit­tany Moe (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Wis­con­sin-Stevens Point, Chris Yahnke (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Wis­con­sin-Stevens Point.

Ref­er­ences

1996. "Aus­tralasian Mar­su­pial & Monotreme Spe­cial­ist Group 1996. Strigo­cus­cus celeben­sis. In: IUCN 2006." (On-line). ICUN Red List of Threat­ened Species. Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 28, 2006 at http://​www.​iucnredlist.​org/​search/​details.​php/​20890/​all.

2006. "Cus­cus" (On-line). Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 29, 2006 at http://​www.​planet-pets.​com/​plntcusc.​htm.

2004. Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia. Pp. 57-64 in D Kleiman, V Geist, M Mc­Dade, eds. Pos­sums and Cus­cuses, Vol. 13 / Mam­mals II, 2nd Edi­tion. Farm­ing­ton Hills, MI: Gale Group Inc..

2000. "Other Crea­tures at the Cen­ter" (On-line). Wildlife Sci­ence Cen­ter. Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 29, 2006 at http://​www.​wildlifesciencecenter.​org/​Creatures.​html.

2006. "Pos­sums and cus­cuses" (On-line). Answers.​com. Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 29, 2006 at http://​www.​answers.​com/​topic/​phalanger.

Crosby, K., C. Nor­ris. 2003. Pe­ri­odic Mor­phol­ogy in the Tri­chosurin Pos­sums Strigo­cus­cus celeben­sis and Wyulda squam­i­cau­data (Diprotodon­tia, Pha­lan­geri­dae) and a Re­vised Di­ag­no­sis of the Tribe Tri­chosurini. Amer­i­can Mu­seum Novi­tates, 3414: 1-16.

Dwiyahreni, A., M. Kin­nard, T. O'Brien, J. Supri­atna, N. An­dayani. 1999. Diet and Ac­tiv­ity of the Bear Cus­cus, Ail­urops ursi­nus, in North Su­lawesi, In­done­sia. Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 80 / 3: 905-912.

Flan­nery, T. 1994. Pos­sums of the World: A Mono­graph of the Pha­langeroidea. Chatswood, Aus­tralia: GEO Pro­duc­tions Pty Ltd.

Groves, C. 1987. Pos­sums and Opos­sums: Stud­ies in Evo­lu­tion. Syd­ney: Sur­rey Beatty & Sons and the Royal Zo­o­log­i­cal So­ci­ety of New South Wales. Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 27, 2006 at http://​arts.​anu.​edu.​au/​grovco/​Marsup.​htm.

Nowak, R. 1999. Ground Cus­cuses. Pp. 91-92 in Walker's Mam­mals of the World, Vol. 1, Sixth Edi­tion. Bal­ti­more & Lon­don: The Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­sity Press.

Ruedas, L., J. Morales. 2005. Evo­lu­tion­ary Re­la­tion­ships Among Gen­era of Pha­lan­geri­dae (Metathe­ria: Diprotodon­tia) In­ferred from Mi­to­chon­dr­ial DNA. Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 86 / 2: 353-365.

Wikipedia, 2006. "Pos­sum" (On-line). Wikipedia, the free en­cy­clo­pe­dia. Ac­cessed No­vem­ber 28, 2006 at http://​en.​wikipedia.​org/​wiki/​Possum.