Pseudochirulus_mayeri
Pygmy ringtail possum
Species of marsupial
The pygmy ringtail possum (Pseudochirulus mayeri) is a species of marsupial in the family Pseudocheiridae. It is found in the montane forest regions of Papua New Guinea and West Papua, Indonesia.[2][3] They are "widespread along the Central Cordillera" and live at elevations between 1,500 and 3,600 metres (4,900 and 11,800 ft) above sea level.”[2]
Pygmy ringtails are herbivores or “arboreal folivores” that eat pollen, lichen, fungus and “epiphytic moss."[3] P. mayeri also eat the bark of trees, which provides them with calcium and potassium.[4] They have “large incisor” teeth which help with “clipping forage from plants” and have “selenodont molars” that help with “shredding ingested foliage."[3] They have “an enlarged cecum that acts as a fermentation chamber”[5] and allows “gut bacteria to breakdown [sic] plant tissue."[3] The extra retention time allows the pygmy ringtail to obtain more nutrients from the ingested forage.