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PAPUA NEW GUINEA. ANIMALS |
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In Papua New Guinea there are 190 species of mammals, from 11 families.
A small selection is detailed here. There are marsupials, rodents and bats, wallabies, bandicoots, and in the high rainfall areas, "water rats". Giant flying foxes and bats thrive too. |
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The LONG-BEAKED ECHIDNA is a large relative of the Australian Short-beaked Echidna. FOund in mid and high- mountain forests between 1000 and 4000 metres its beak is specialised to feed mainly on earthworms from the ground litter. |
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Matschie's Tree Kangaroo one of 4 such species in Papua New Guinea, is imilar to the brightly colour Goodfellow's Tree Kangarro from the central mountain forests. This species lives in the Huon Peninsula to the south of Lae. |
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White-tailed Rats are perhaps the largest species of rat in PNG. Fully grown individuals may reach the size of a small domestic cat.
They are common in the rainforests from sea-level to 2000 metres and forage equally as well on the ground as in the trees. Rather tame, these rats will approach a quiet observer at night and show little fear. |
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A member of the Possum family, the SPOTTED CUSCUS is reputed to be slow and sloth-like. In reality it is a nocturnal fruit and leaf eater which punctuates periods of rest with active food-seeking. Males are generall smaller than females and have brown spots on the upper parts. Females lack the spots the vary in colour from orange-brown to silvery-grey according to the area they come from. |
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The PEN TAILED POSSUM is a small mouse-sized possum which has an unusual fringe of long hairs down each side of the tail. |
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Flattened tails are characteristic of many species of gliding mammals and it is puzzling in this species, which does not glide. Pen-tailed Possums live in the shrub-layer of lowland rainforest up to 2000 metres. |
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The SUGAR GLIDER is a tree-dwelling relative of the Spotted Cuscus. Sugar Gliders are a wide ranging species occurring from the forests of coastal eastern and northern Australia into the lowlands of Papua New Guinea. They rarely occur above 1500 metres and prefer humid forests rather than the cooler and wetter mountain forests.
Social groups of up to 10 individuals frequently build leaf nests in the crown of coconut palms and maintain contact by a system of characteristic calls and scents. |
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Deer do not occur naturally in PNG. JAVAN RUSA were introduced to a number of localities during the early 1900's. It is a swamp and grassland species from certain islands in Indonesia and prefers similar habitat in New Guinea. The largest numbers are found in the vast wetland south and east of the Fly River in Papua. |
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Although insect-eating bats, are mostly small species and fruit bats or flying foxes are larger, often with a wing span up to 2 metres, the Tube-nosed BAT is a small fruit eater of the lowland forests.
Very colourful. The tube nostrils and irregular blotching on the wing membrane separate this one from other fruit bats.
The bat shown here (left) is using its belly as a table to hold the rainforest fruit it is eating. |
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HOME |
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PAPUA NEW GUINEA PAGES |
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SIGN GUESTBOOK |
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VIEW GUESTBOOK |
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Margarets Pages - updated 10th May 2009 |
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