Golden Green Plush-Coated Ringtail Possum (Pseudochirops corinnae) of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

The Wola people are a twentieth-century discovery, not a twentieth-century invention. They so blend with their forested, rugged habitats in the central-south highland interior of Papua New Guinea that governments and scientists knew nothing of their existence until the 1930s. The descendants of Papua New Guinea’s European settlers historically cluster along the southwest Pacific Ocean island’s east, north and south coasts. Agro-industrial development, governmental legitimacy, residential expansion, scientific inquiry, and war-oriented trends explain the inexorable march inward that ended the Wola’s bio-geographical isolation from coastal politics and socio-economics. Wildlife lovers and researchers hope that the discovery and ensuing interactions will prove as beneficial to the native Wola language-speakers as they are to government policymakers and scientific investigators.

It can be considered quite ironic that official scientific acquaintance in 1897 with one of the Wola people’s favorite wild animals did not lead immediately to the discovery of the golden plush-coated ringtail possum’s most assiduous hunter. Golden plush-coated ringtails in fact favor elevations of 2,952.76 – 9,514.44 feet (900 – 2,900 meters) above sea level throughout both sides of the island’s east-to-west-running highland chain of mountain ranges and river valleys and within Papua New Guinea’s northeasterly-located Huon Peninsula montane rain forests. Their bio-geographical range therefore merges with that of the Wola, whose villages dot altitudes of 5,249.34 – 6,561.68 feet (1,600 – 2,000 meters) above sea level in the Southern Highlands Province river valleys of:

• Ak;
• Lai;
• Mend;
• Nemb;
• Was.

Wola-speaking villagers claim cane grasslands along river valley sides northeast of Lake Kutubu whereas golden plush-coated ringtail possums inhabit:

• Mature, undisturbed montane forests;
• Secondary forests unfrequented by people.

The Wola construct communities around extended families while golden plush-coated ringtail possums live:

• In rock holes;
• On tree branches;
• Under surface-level litter or moss.

Adult Wola males get individual homes separate from quarters for adult females, children, and pigs whereas golden plush-coated ringtail possums nest separately once adult females emancipate their one yearly-born offspring. Wola adult males must clear and fence land for females to cultivate and process bananas, greens, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and taro while all weaned golden plush-coated ringtail possums gather:

• Bark;
• Berries;
• Flowers;
• Leaves;
• Sap.

Rituals bring together the divergent life cycles of the golden plush-coated ringtail possum and the Wola. The Wola confer the name taenayatow upon the golden plush-coated ringtail possum, their preferred ceremonial, commercial and culinary currency. Adult Wola males gather arrows, bows, and tree traps before the hunt for:

• Opulent furs conferring beautiful practicality and -- in the case of male-donned aprons made from the golden plush-coated ringtail possum’s paler undersides -- surviving wear-and-tear;
• Special dishes connected with celebratory dinners, marriage ceremonies, and traditional reunions;
• Strong skins covering drumheads;
• Wealth transfers including bird-of-paradise plumes, cowrie shells, crude salt, pearls, pigs, and tree-sap oil cosmetics.

But they know that the taenayatow is docile in captivity and valiant in death.

Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas’s (February 21, 1858 – June 16, 1929) official description indeed attests to a “handsome and interesting Phalanger, the finest of Dr. Loria’s discoveries” (p. 620). Dark, middle-of-the-back striping divides closely-, densely-, finely-growing, silvery-brown upper fur. Black, off-white, red-brown mottling dot the nape, limbs and sides. A pale ring encircles each big, round, side-facing eye even though dark shadows are expected since golden plush-coated ringtails sleep fitfully. Dark whiskers grace both the dark muzzle. Yellow spots highlight hairy, long ears. Yellowed red-browns lighten undersurfaces less than light-colored digits opposable to each big toe and thumb. The prehensile (“grasping”) tail perpetuates the upper mottling while tapering to a darkened, hairless, ring-curled tip and green-granuled, slip-resistant underside.

The golden green from sunlight warming the golden plush-coated ringtail coat’s intermingled coloring augments the arboreal nocturnalist’s survival around Telefomin even though it is less effective around the Kemp Welch and Vanapa Rivers where specimens once abounded. But the world’s best camouflage cannot help low birth rates. Adult females deliver one newborn with each year’s breeding season. Newborns get maximum protection in maternal pouches and nests before maturing physically and sexually to adulthood, with:

• Dental formulas of 6 incisors, 2 canines, 6 premolars, and 8 molars for the upper jaw and of 4 incisors, 6 premolars, and 8 molars for the lower;
• Head-and-body lengths averaging 12.21 inches (31 centimeters);
• Tail lengths hovering around 12.59 inches (32 centimeters).

New Guineans are accidental adversaries and strong supporters of beautifully, uniquely diverse land- and sea-scapes. Unintended adversariness arises from reconciling both sides in wildland-urban interfaces. Mother Nature indeed blesses the entire island with plentifully rich natural resources. But access and exploitation demand compromise or indifference. Despite their gentle avoidance of home invasions and territorial threats by predatory raptors and reptiles, golden plush-coated ringtail possums nowadays find themselves right in the middle between agro-industrial expansion and environmental sustainability. The commitment of wildlife lovers and researchers and the proliferation of national parks and wildlife reserves suggest that help is forthcoming to golden plush-coated ringtail possums beleaguered and near-threatened by:

• Globally-warmed climate change;
• Hunting;
• Land-clearing;
• Logging of mature, primary forests.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Annali del Museo civico di storia naturale di Genova, Ser. 2, Vol. XVIII (XXXVIII), Tav. II: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/annalidelmuseoci38muse/page/n742/mode/1up; Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7785955

Distribution data from IUCN Red List: Chermundy/ IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, species assessors and the authors of the spatial data, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plush-coated_Ringtail_Possum_area.png

Lake Kutubu, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea: Iain Taylor1, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Clouds_over_Lake_Kutubu.jpg

oil on canvas by John Ernest Breun (1862-1921): Kristofer M. Helgen, Roberto Portela Miguez, James Kohen, Lauren Helgen/ZooKeys, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Michael_Rogers_Oldfield_Thomas_-_ZooKeys-255-103-g003-bottom_right.jpeg; via Pensoft Publishers / ZooKeys @ https://zookeys.pensoft.net/showimg.php?filename=oo_25946.jpg

NASA World Wind image of Telefomin: NASA, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Telefomin-SepikR.png

Kasanombe, Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea
village's spongey-surfaced airstrip (center right) slopes 12 degrees; ca. 1970 image: laikanuki1, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kasanombe_Base_Camp_Circa_1970_-_panoramio.jpg

Ok Tedi Mine: Ok Tedi Mine CMCA Review, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OkTediMine.jpg

view of Mount Giluwe from Ialibu, Ialibu-Pangia District, Southern Highlands: Kaijankoski, Public Domain (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Giluwe.jpg

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