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Phalanger
Phalangers are small marsupials found in Australia, New Guinea, along with many East Indian islands. The Phalanger bares a great resemblance to the American opossum and for that reason, it was originally classified by early explorers under the same name. With further investigation however, it was discovered that the Phalanger and the opossum were actually of two different families. The Phalanger can range in size, fur size and function. The Phalanger can reach lengths that vary from 5.5 inches to 35 inches. Their fur can either be gray, brown, black or of slightly red tint and accompanied by either stripes or spots. Their variation even goes down to their tails, which can either be long and fluffy, or partially hairless. Like other marsupials, Phalangers raise their young in a pouch. After a short pregnancy of only a few weeks, baby Phalangers, which can be as many as six in one pregnancy, live in their mother's pouch. After months in the pouch and months of their mother nurturing and protecting them, the Phalangers are them able to engage the world on their own. Phalangers mostly eat at night and have a wide ranging diet. Different variations prefer different types of food, but in general they can eat leaves, flowers, nectar, sap, pollen, insects and smaller animals. Their main predators include snakes, monitor lizards and large owls.
The reason for this great deal of variation is because the Phalanger can survive a variety of ways in the wild. Some small Phalangers are similar in function to mice, scavenging for their food and trying not to get eaten by owls or other predators. There are some types of Phalangers known as gliders. These gliders have flaps of skin that allow them to jump from tree to tree, catching wind under the flaps and safely riding the air. Some gliders can go as far as 300 feet. Regardless of their differences, most Phalangers have the common ability to climb and grasp, which is ideal for climbing up trees.
Though Phalangers as a whole are not at risk of extinction, certain forms of the Phalangers are. In 2008, the Phalanger Matanim was assessed to be either completely extinct, or critically endangered in Papua New Guinea. Though direct human exploitation on the Phalanger Matanim was partly to blame for this loss, the destruction of the Phalanger's habitat was the true culprit. Through deforestation, fire and other destructive forces the Phalanger Matanim was wiped out and other Phalanger species could fall victim to the same fate if forest conservation efforts aren't increased.
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