The pygmy possums are species of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. There are five extant species of pygmy possum, grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Pygmy possums range in length from about 50 to 120 millimetres long, and usually weigh between 10 and 50 grams. They are nocturnal and omnivorous, living on a diet of invertebrates, fruit, seed, nectar and pollen. They are excellent climbers, due in part to their possession of a prehensile tail. Although they cannot glide like some other species of possum, some species are able to leap a long distance.[2]
There are two genera of pygmy possums: Burramys and Cercartetus. Burramys contains only one extant species, the Mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus. As currently understood, Cercartetus consists of four extant species.
^ Turner, Vivienne and McKay, G. M. (1989). "27. Burramyidae", in Walton, D.W. and Richardson, B. J. (eds): Fauna of Australia, Volume 1B: Mammalia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-06056-5.
