Cercartetus concinnus

The western pygmy possum, also known as the southwestern pygmy possum or the mundarda, is a small nocturnal marsupial found in Australia. It is observed to be both arboreal and terrestrial, foraging on the ground or in trees and shrubs in search of different flowering plants, and predominantly feeding on the pollen and nectar of plants native to its habitat, such as Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Its nightly movements are typically short, averaging around 50 m (160 ft), but individuals are capable of traveling much greater distances in search of food. Genetic studies indicate its closest relative is likely the eastern pygmy possum, from which its ancestors diverged around eight million years ago.

Cercartetus concinnus

Ian R McCann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
southwestern pygmy possumPBDB
Sits inside
CercartetusPBDB
Diet
insectivore, frugivorePBDB, for Burramyidae
Life habit
arborealPBDB, for Burramyidae
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Mammalia

Time the record covers

At least 645 thousand years on record.

The record covers at least 774 ka to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 3.6 Mya to 0 Mya.

Pliocene — about 0 of 4 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 4 of 4 occurrencesPleistoceneHolocene — about 0 of 4 occurrences3.7–3.6 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences3.6–3.4 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences3.4–3.3 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences3.3–3.1 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences3.1–3.0 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences3.0–2.9 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences2.9–2.7 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences2.7–2.6 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences2.6–2.5 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences2.5–2.3 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences2.3–2.2 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences2.2–2.0 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences2.0–1.9 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.9–1.8 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.8–1.6 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.6–1.5 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.5–1.4 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.4–1.2 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.2–1.1 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences1.1–957 ka Mya — about 0.2 occurrences957 ka–820 ka Mya — about 0.2 occurrences820 ka–683 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences683 ka–547 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences547 ka–410 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences410 ka–273 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences273 ka–137 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences137 ka–0 Mya — about 1 occurrence774 ka129 ka4.1 Mya0 Mya

4 occurrences of Cercartetus concinnus on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

4 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Cercartetus concinnus and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Cercartetus concinnus and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

97 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 4 sites for Cercartetus concinnus, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

4 references

Each of the 4 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Each entry links to the Paleobiology Database's own record for the work.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Cercartetus concinnus

Credit
Ian R McCann
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Cercartetus concinnus · MCZ:Mamm:57114

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itCercartetus through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Gould 1845)