Mini Marsupials
Australia is famous for its wonderful wildlife, including Kangaroos, koalas, emus, and crocodiles, but its wildlife is much more diverse and wonderful than many people realise. Unaware of the amazing array of Australia's Mini Marsupials: Numbats, Chuditchs, Woylys and Honey Possums, to name a few.
Australia has the worst record of native flora and fauna extinction in the world. 95% of arid zone animals have disappeared. These tiny marsupials are under threat of extinction from land degradation and feral animals. Foxes and cats alone are estimated to kill some 36 billion small animals every year.
Gathering Goodness
Honey Possum
Lost in Reflection
Honey Possum
Honey possums are among the world’s smallest Marsupials. This little cutie can sometimes be mistaken for a mouse but is actually a unique native that survives only on nectar. They are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. They live in Banksia woodlands, sandplain heathlands, shrublands, and low open woodlands, where at least one plant flowers throughout the year. Unfortunately, they are now extinct in most of the Central Wheatbelt, where much of this vegetation has been cleared.
Despite its name, it neither eats honey nor is technically a possum. It is classified in its own family, Tarsipedidae. It is the sole survivor of an otherwise extinct marsupial group that diverged from the diprotodon lineage during the Pleistocene, about two million years ago.
If you live in the Southwest, you might be able to spot this amazing animal at dawn or dusk, but it is unlikely as they are usually nocturnal.
Acrylic Painting
600 x 600
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Gathering Goodness
The honey possum or noolbenger (Tarsipes rostratus), is a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering plants. Found only in southwest Australia, it is an important pollinator. The tiny marsupial climbs woody plants to feed on the pollen and nectar, the honey, of banksia and eucalypts. They resemble a tiny mouse or the arboreal possums of Australia and are readily distinguished by the exceptionally long muzzle and three brown stripes from the head to the rump.
Acrylic Painting
340 x 180
$ 160
Lost in Reflection
Honey possums were once found throughout the south-western global biodiversity hotspot, from Jurien Bay in the north-west to Esperance in the south-east. However, the flower-rich habitat it relies on for survival has declined, initially from widespread clearing. There are stories from the early days of European settlement that honey possums used to be so abundant that when holes were dug for fence posts, they would function as a pit trap and catch many honey possums.
With the significant loss of habitat across southwestern Australia, the honey possum's range has contracted significantly, and it is now found mainly in the south coastal region.
People can help stabilise this population by planting native flowering plants, keeping pet cats indoors, and controlling feral animals.
Mirror Painting
770 x 450
$700