It is hard to guess what a Lemur-like ringtail possum weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Lemur-like ringtail possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides) on average weights 997 grams (2.2 lbs).
The Lemur-like ringtail possum is from the family Pseudocheiridae (genus: Hemibelideus). They can live for up to 4 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 20.2 cm (0′ 8″). Usually, Lemur-like ringtail possums have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The lemur-like ringtail possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides), also known as the lemuroid ringtail possum or the brushy-tailed ringtail, is one of the most singular members of the ringtail possum group. It was once thought that they were gliding possums (Petauroides volans); Hemibelideus literally translates as “half-glider” (belideus being a diminutive form of Petaurus, meaning “glider”). They are similar to lemurs in their facial characteristics, which short snouts, large, forward-facing eyes and small ears, but similar to gliders, H. in their musculo-skeletal adaptations to accommodate a leaping lifestyle. Their long, prehensile tail is a further adaptation to their arboreal habitat.It has a bushier tail when compared to other ringtails, and can be distinguished from the greater glider by its lack of gliding membrane and much shorter, hairless ears. It is a social possum, and is found in two main colour forms: the more common brownish-gray form, with a yellowish underbelly, and a rare white form, which occurred in the Daintree Rainforest and was last seen in 2005 in Mount Lewis National Park, and in 2008 believed to have been nearly extinct. This possum is found in a small area of only about 300,000 hectares in total, between Ingham and Cairns in Queensland, Australia, and in an isolated population on the Mount Carbine Tableland, both within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. They are strictly arboreal and live in the high canopies of mature forests and favour particular tree types, usually found above 480-900 metres in elevation. Its body length is 30-38 cm and tail length of 30-35 cm, weighing between 810 and 1140 grams.Professor Stephen Williams, researcher on climate change and biodiversity at the Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change at James Cook University, Queensland, says that none were seen for several years after the heatwaves of 2005, when first a few were spotted (three were observed in the Daintree National Park, on Cape York Peninsula in 2009) then increasing numbers as they slowly recovered. Professor Williams said in 2009 that there was no reason to believe the white ones would be harder hit than the brown ones though.Then the next heatwave in struck in November 2018, when the Cairns region was hit by the highest temperatures since records began – even the highest mountain in the wet tropics reached 39 degrees celsius. Many tropical species just cannot cope with extreme heat, not having evolved mechanisms to cool their bodies down, according to Professor Williams; they can die from temperatures above 29 degrees. He said that over the past 15 years systematically species have started to disappear from the lower elevations and being pushed up the mountain, causing the total populations to decline because they’re being pushed and pushed into a smaller and smaller area as new species migrate to higher elevations. This puts pressure on creatures living in the mountain summits such as the lemuroid possum, which have nowhere else to go; the nearest rainforest is 1000 kilometres away.
Animals of the same family as a Lemur-like ringtail possum
We found other animals of the Pseudocheiridae family:
- Pseudocheirus schlegeli with a weight of 256 grams
- Reclusive ringtail possum bringing 1.4 kilos (3.09 lbs) to the scale
- Herbert River ringtail possum bringing 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs) to the scale
- Lowland ringtail possum with a weight of 300 grams
- Lowland ringtail possum with a weight of 300 grams
- Greater glider bringing 1.26 kilos (2.78 lbs) to the scale
- Vogelkop ringtail possum with a weight of 255 grams
- Green ringtail possum bringing 1.15 kilos (2.54 lbs) to the scale
- Painted ringtail possum with a weight of 639 grams
- Plush-coated ringtail possum bringing 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Lemur-like ringtail possum
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Hemibelideus lemuroides:
- Eastern quoll with a weight of 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs)
- Small-toothed sportive lemur bringing 955 grams to the scale
- Great flying fox with a weight of 1.02 kilos (2.25 lbs)
- Gray-bellied night monkey bringing 800 grams to the scale
- Northern greater galago bringing 812 grams to the scale
- Tres Marias rabbit bringing 964 grams to the scale
- Eastern barred bandicoot bringing 903 grams to the scale
- Andean squirrel bringing 803 grams to the scale
- Black-footed ferret bringing 907 grams to the scale
- Bahia porcupine bringing 999 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a Lemur-like ringtail possum
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Lemur-like ringtail possum:
- Bulmer’s fruit bat
- Eisentraut’s shrew
- Pennant’s colobus
- Long-tongued fruit bat
- Birdlike noctule
- Little free-tailed bat
- Little forest bat
- Feather-tailed possum
- Rüppell’s pipistrelle
- Polar bear
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Lemur-like ringtail possum
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Lemur-like ringtail possum:
- Southern brown bandicoot with an average maximal age of 3.75 years
- Euphrates jerboa with an average maximal age of 4.17 years
- Long-legged myotis with an average maximal age of 4.25 years
- Berdmore’s ground squirrel with an average maximal age of 4.25 years
- Arctic lemming with an average maximal age of 3.75 years
- Southwestern water vole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Hylaeamys megacephalus with an average maximal age of 3.75 years
- Bush rat with an average maximal age of 3.42 years
- Aders’s duiker with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Greater cane rat with an average maximal age of 4.25 years