Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Ordo: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Subordo: Cynodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohort: Theria
Cohort: Metatheria
Cohort: Marsupialia
Ordo: Diprotodontia
Subordo: Phalangeriformes
Superfamilia: Phalangeroidea
Familia: Phalangeridae
Subfamilia: Ailuropinae
Genus: Ailurops
Species (2): A. melanotis - A. ursinus
Name
Ailurops Wagler, 1830
Type species: Phalangista ursina Temminck, 1824
Synonyms
Ceonix Temminck, 1827
Eucuscus Gray, 1862
References
Ailurops in Mammal Species of the World.
Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (Editors) 2005. Mammal Species of the World – A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third edition. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
Naturliches Syst. Amphibien, p. 26.
Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. 2 volumes. 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. Reference page.
The bear cuscuses are the members of the genus Ailurops.[1] They are marsupials of the family Phalangeridae.[1]
The bear cuscuses are arboreal marsupials. Almost nothing is known of their status and ecology.[2][3] Although some scientists assign all populations to one species, A. ursinus, others place melanotis as its own species.[1] The genus is distinct, though, and some authorities place it within its own subfamily, Ailuropinae.[1]
They are found only in Indonesia on Sulawesi and some smaller nearby islands that are biogeographically part of Wallacea, which from a faunal standpoint is intermediate between the Australian and Indomalayan realms. It is hypothesized that the isolation of the bear cuscuses on the island of Sulawesi in the Miocene accounts for the animal's morphological divergence from the rest of the family Phalangeridae.
The genus contains the following species:[1]
Talaud bear cuscus, Ailurops melanotis - Salebabu Island in the Talaud Islands
Sulawesi bear cuscus, Ailurops ursinus - Sulawesi, Peleng Island, Muna Island, Butung Island, Togian Islands
References
Groves, C. P. (2005). "Genus Ailurops". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). "Ailurops ursinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
Flannery, T. & Helgen, K. (2008). "Ailurops melanotis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
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