Lemur-like Ringtail

Open encyclopedia reference

The lemuroid ringtail possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides), also known as the lemur-like ringtail possum or the brushy-tailed ringtail, is a truly singular member of the ringtail possum group. It was once thought that they were greater gliders (Petauroides volans); Hemibelideus literally translates as "half-glider" (belideus being a diminutive form of Petaurus, meaning "glider"). Named for their facial characteristics visually similar to the unrelated primate lemurs, with short snouts, large, forward-facing eyes and small ears, they are similar to other gliding possums in their musculo-skeletal adaptations to accommodate a leaping lifestyle. Their long, prehensile tail is a further adaptation to their arboreal habitat. It has a bushier tail when compared to other ringtails, and can be distinguished from the greater glider by its lack of gliding membrane and much shorter, hairless ears.

Wikipedia contributors, Lemuroid ringtail possum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:35:58.750506+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hemibelideus lemuroides (Collett, 1884)

Name authority

(Collett, 1884)

Common name

Lemur-like Ringtail

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Diprotodontia

Family

Pseudocheiridae

Genus

Hemibelideus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
11. orderDiprotodontia Owen, 1866
12. suborderPhalangeriformes Szalay in Archer, 1982
13. superfamilyPetauroidea Bonaparte, 1838
14. familyPseudocheiridae Winge, 1893
15. subfamilyHemibelideinae Kirsch, Lapointe & Springer, 1997
16. genusHemibelideus Collett, 1884
17. speciesHemibelideus lemuroides (Collett, 1884)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 12 records assigned to Pseudocheiridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=609820 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3KLQN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.