NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Mountain Pygmy Possum
Burramys parvus Broom, 1896
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The mountain pygmy possum (Burramys parvus), also simply known as the burramys, is a small, mouse-sized (weighs 45 grams (1.6 oz)) nocturnal marsupial of Australia found in dense alpine rock screes and boulder fields, mainly southern Victoria and around Mount Kosciuszko in Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales at elevations from 1,300 to 2,230 metres (4,270 to 7,320 ft). At almost 14 cm (5.5 in), its prehensile tail is longer than its 11 cm (4.3 in) combined head and body length. Its diet consists of insects (such as the bogong moth), fleshy fruits, nuts, nectar and seeds. Its body is covered in a thick coat of fine grey fur except for its stomach, which is cream coloured; its tail is hairless. On the underside of the female's body is a pouch containing four teats. This possum is the only extant species in the genus Burramys. It is also the only Australian mammal restricted to alpine habitat.
Wikipedia contributors, Mountain pygmy possum; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:14:35.451976+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Burramys parvus Broom, 1896
- Name authority
- Broom, 1896
- Common name
- Mountain Pygmy Possum
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Diprotodontia
- Family
- Burramyidae
- Genus
- Burramys
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
- orderDiprotodontia Owen, 1866
- suborderPhalangeriformes Szalay in Archer, 1982
- superfamilyPhalangeroidea Thomas, 1888
- familyBurramyidae Broom, 1898
- genusBurramys Broom, 1896
- speciesBurramys parvus Broom, 1896
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=609815 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:NY43. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.