Spilocuscus rufoniger

Taxonomy (Name)

Picture

Distribution, Range

This species is widespread, though patchily distributed, in the northern part of the island of New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). Most of the records are very old. It has been recorded from sea level to 1,200 m asl.

IUCN

Map

Country

Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
China
Indonesia
Japan
Lao PDR
Malaysia
Myanmar
Mongolia
Philippines
Singapore
Republic of Korea
Thailand
Vietnam

Status

International Status

IUCN Red List Category

CRIUCN

Justification

Listed as Critically Endangered because of a suspected population decline in excess of 80% over three generations (i.e., 15 years) (the last five years and next ten years) due to levels of exploitation and habitat loss (especially oil palm concessions and logging concessions).

IUCN

CITES

CMS

National Status

Ecology Discription

Appearance

Habitat

This species prefers primary lowland and lower-montane tropical forests. It is also less commonly found in secondary forest. It is most likely nocturnal (L. Salas pers. comm.).

IUCN

Population size

Spilocuscus rufoniger is a rare species. It has been extirpated from parts of its range through overhunting and its intolerance to human disturbance.

IUCN

Behavior

Diet

Reproduction

Threat

Major Threat(s)

This species is threatened by preferential hunting by local people for food and cultural reasons, and also by conversion of forest to cultivated land. While it has declined where it comes into contact with people, a large part of its range is uninhabited. The west Papuan area has been impacted by the influx of Javan people, and large areas of habitat have been transformed by agriculture. There are also logging concessions and oil palm activities planned for parts of the area.

IUCN

Conservation and Measurement

International

National

There is a need to conserve important populations of this species. Public awareness and hunting restrictions will be essential for the conservation of this species. Further research into its numbers, distribution, ecology, threats, harvest levels, and conservation measures are all important.

Conservation law

Protected Area

It occurs in several protected areas in Indonesia and a management area in Papua New Guinea.

Other Coservation Projects

Citation

Flannery, T. F. 1995. The Mammals of New Guinea, 2nd edition. Reed Books, Sydney, Australia.

IUCN. 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 5 October 2008).