AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES Published by Number 1287 the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY June 11, 1945 New York City

AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES Published by Number 1287 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY June 11, 1945 New York City RESULTS OF THE ARCHBOLD EXPEDITIONS. NO. 54 THE MARSUPIAL GENUS PSEUDOCHEIRUS AND ITS SUBGENERA BY G. H. H. TATE The second and third Archbold Expedi- Commission on Zoological Nomenclature' tions to New Guinea, undertaken in 1936 is not permissible. and 1938, have added substantial numbers In the present paper, Pseudocheirus is of specimens to the collection of Pseudo- held to comprise the following subgenera: cheirus already contained in the American Pseudocheirus (including Pseudochirulus), Museum of Natural History. Further- Pseudochirops, Petropseudes, and Hemi- more, a number of specimens from northern belideus. These subgenera have very un- Queensland, collected by Miss Gabriele equal values and relationships. Petro- Neuhiauser, and the important series ob- pseudes is considered to be a derivative of tained by the late Henry C. Raven in Pseudochirops. Hemibelideus may be a Queensland, New South Wales, and Tas- much older relict from the same line. mania, both lots previously unstudied, Pseudochirops and Pseudocheirus, though have furnished valuable data. Loans of distinct, share common ancestry. Two material by Dr. Remington Kellogg, the other full genera are related to the foregoing United States National Museum, and Miss assemblage, Schoinobates, the pseudochei- Barbara Lawrence, the Museum of Com- roid flying phalanger, and Phascolarctos, parative Zo6logy, to both of whom I wish the koala. The whole, in which possibly to express my deep thanks, have further fossil genera should be included (I have not swelled the source material upon which examined the fossil forms), constitutes a this paper is based. I am particularly in- selenodont subfamily of the family Pha- debted to the authorities in the European langeridae. and Australian museums, visited in 1937, for granting me facilities to study and photograph many of the type specimens KEY TO THE SUBGENERA OF and others in their charge. Pseudocheirus Measurements, particularly of the teeth, 1. Palate unbroadened; crown of i2 little of nearly all the types and as far as possible or not at all lengthened in pro- of substantial series of topotypes and others portion to that of iP. .Pseudocheiru8 are shown at the end of this paper. One Palate markedly broadened; crown new race, P. herbertenis cinereus, is of i2 about half as long again as that described. ofi3...............2 The word Pseudocheirus [sic] was twice 2. Tail with erect hairs almost to the tip; used by Ogilby (September, 1837a; 1837b). skull with inferior wall of audital It was proposed in proper form for a new meatus inflated and cellular........ subgenus of Phalangista. Later citations .......Hem.............ibelideus by Waterhouse (1846) and Thomas (1888), Tail with hairs of terminal fourth ap- using the spelling Pseudochirus, relate to a pressed; inferior wall of meatus nomen nudum (Ogilby, 1836). Other solid ............ 3 authors, including even Palmer (1904), con- tinued to that form of 1 Article 19 (Original orthography); Article 35, employ spelling, Section a (ei and i synonymous; older spelling to which under the Rules of the International take precedence). 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES [No. 1287 3. Tail very much shorter than head and Tail almost as long as head and body; body; mastoid swellings exag- mastoids more or less inflated, but gerated upward ...... Petropseudes not upward ...... Pseudochirops GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION The accompanying chart (fig. 1) shows a A unique distributional pattern, still preponderance of species of Pseudocheirus poorly substantiated, is seen in albertisii, in New Guinea and northern Australia and, which has thus far been taken in the Arfak in contrast, few species through the rest of and Weyland Mountains, near Sorong forested Australia (with Tasmania). In no (extreme northwestern Vogelkop), on Japen one part of high mountainous New Guinea Island in Geelvink Bay, at the Cyclops Eastern Australia Ca Cs 0'4 0 06 *S 4-) 0 ca Full Species w Cs A . 4) -'40 Ca" la m' IW4)S.co 0 .'4Ca 02 0' a) 0) z z- 0 a) '-4 '4) 0 ¢4 'r45 14 0 0' m~ '4:2 1-'. Z c) 0 0- XCs a4 Z! HE05 Pseudocheirus peregrinus caroli forbesi pygmaeus canescens occidentalis rubidus victoriae convolutor herbertensis Pseudochirops archeri corinnae cupreus albertisii Petropseudes Hemibelideus _1 1- -1 1-1~ l-~1. _.~l~ - Totals 3 5 |51/2 3 3 4 1 4 2 1 2 1 1 1 Fig. 1. Distribution of the species of the genus Pseudocheirus. are fewer than three species found. This Mountains on the north coast, and near the number rises to five, perhaps six, in the Sepik River, probably in the mountains Central Range of Netherlands New Guinea. west of it. This pattern indicates for The southeastern part of the Central albertisii a western and northern distribu- Range lacks the three western species, tion. caroli, pygmaeus, and albertisii; but on the Four northern Queensland species are other hand, two of the species of eastern absent from Papua, but two of them, New Guinea, corinnae and cupreus, al- peregrinus and archeri, show much closer though present in the Mount Wilhelmina relationship to Papuan species than do the area, remain unrecorded from the western others, herbertensis and lemuroides; the end of the Central Range and from Vogel- last-mentioned is so strongly divergent as kop. One of these, corinnae, is allied to the to be considered a monotypic subgenus north Queensland species archeri. (Hemibelideus). Both herbertensis and 1945] RESULTS OF THE ARCHBOLD EXPEDITIONS. 64 3 archeri show nearly identical restricted fall into the hands of coast-dwelling natives geographical ranges in northern Queens- who may take them to islands in canoes. land, but peregrinus, if I am right in hold- The altitudinal ranges of most of the ing it to be conspecific with laniginosus, species in New Guinea include several occupies almost the whole of eastern thousands of feet. The species that dwells Australia. at the highest levels is the tiny P. pyg- The remaining Australian species, iso- maeus, specimens of which have been col- lated in varying degrees both morphologi- lected as high as 12,000 feet. Conversely cally and geographically, comprise rubidus the lowest record for any of the species in- of southern Queensland, victoriae of south- habiting the lower levels in New Guinea is eastern Australia, convolutor of Tasmania 600 feet above sea level. In Australia, and Flinders Island, occidentalis of ex- particularly in temperate Australia and treme southwestern Australia, the sub- Tasmania, this condition may not hold. Thousands of feet above sea level Region of New Guinea Full Species 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 or Australia Pseudocheirus peregrinus - - Eastern Australia caroli ? ? ? - _ Central Netherlands New Guinea forbesi - New Guinea pygmaeus _ _ _ _ - Netherlands New Guinea (high mountains) canescen - New Guinea (foothills) occidentalig. ? Western Australia (south) rubidu8 - Southern Queensland victoriae - Victoria and south Australia convolutor - - Tasmania and Flinders Island herbertensi8 Northern Queensland Pseudochirops archeri Northern Queensland corinnae - - _ Central and eastern New Guinea cupreus - - Central and eastern New Guinea albertisii - Northwestern and northern New Guinea Petrop8eudes - Northern Territory, Australia Hemibelideus Northern Queensland Totals 61/2 121/2 1 V/2 6 7 6 5 3 1 1 1 1 Fig. 2. Species density of the genus Pseudocheirus. generically monotypic dahli of the Northern The number of species of Pseudocheirus Territory, and lemuroides of northern occurring in successive 1000-foot altitudinal Queensland. bands has been plotted (fig. 2). In study- One is struck by the tendency in virtually ing that figure it must be remembered that all species of Pseudocheirus to inhabit hilly some of these species, especially those of country well above sea level and to be ab- Australia, may be limited in their upward sent from coastal lowlands. This fact may spread by absence of higher mountains account for the rarity of Pseudocheirus on carrying forested environment suited to islands,1 in contrast to species of the their requirements. There seems to exist ecologically and functionally similar genus, a critical level at about 7000 to 8000 feet, Phalanger. The animals are less likely to above which most of the species, even of be carried out to sea on natural rafts or to New Guinea, do not occur. The high- 1 P. canescens on Salawatti; P. albertisii on Japen. altitude species, pygmaeus, found up to 4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES [No. 1287 12,000 feet, diverges from all others by existed from time to time in this area in attaining its downward limit at about 6000 the not very distant past. feet. (It is a member of a small, quite The restriction of Pseudochirops to New specialized, high-mountain fauna, which in- Guinea and adjoining parts of Australia cludes peculiar mountain-living species of (archeri in northern Queensland, dahli in Peroryctes, Dorcopsis, and several rodents.) Northern Territory), presents a decided The species of Pseudocheirus occurring next contrast to that of the widely dispersed sub- highest in New Guinea is cupreus, with genus Pseudocheirus. In the case of Pseudo- altitudinal range between 5000 and 8000 chirops one can hardly escape the conclu- feet. sion that New Guinea, with Torresia, FORBESI LARVArUS LONCIPILIS SCHLECELI / CAP/SrRATUS LEW/SI j *BARTUS OPRAL/S C//ER PIL DMEMN INCA S \ AVODESTUS I DAMER/API \ZI / CArESCENS AVARUS 'PERE RINU LANGINIOSUS IY?AO FORBES,MAUS8E&SUN ROT/AL/S PYGMAEUS f TPALATE SERNSTEIR | \ Ut/~~RVDUS FEN ESTRATEDl| CANfSCENS VICrO/IAE PEREBR/S \\/| / CAROLI \I\TOR/Al COAVLUTOR / VERSTMEEI CAROL/ OCCIDENAL/S / PAROCCIPITAL PROCESSES NEW GUINEA REDUCED BRANCH IIERMWERT1SIS AUSTRALIAN COLLETTI BRANCHES CNRU SUBGENUS PSEL/OOCNE/RvS Fig. 3. Phylogenetic tree of the subgenus Pseudocheirus. In the Torres area, between the southern served as the region in which the species spurs of the Leonard Murray Range and evolved and gradually dispersed.

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