An elegant Visitor

Striped Possum

This is the Striped Possum, Dactylospila trivirgata; Petaluridae, an infrequent visitor. It is larger than a squirrel and somewhat smaller than a small cat.

It is peculiar in that it has the fourth finger modified into an elongate probing tool. It uses this to pry insect larvae from underneath bark.

It is said to be an insectivore and maybe it was attracted by the moths seen in the blog below. Not much is known about this species so it may be eating some of the fruit as well.

The Striped Possum occurs in rainforests and adjacent eucalypt woodland on the east coast of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland and north to New Guinea.

These possums have a powerful, unpleasant smell they emit when threatened. Fortunately, this fellow seems to like our place and has never given us the "juice". It is said to be noisy. I hear growls and chattering from the tree tops at times and this fellow may be the culprit.