Cuscuses in GURPS

Cuscuses are nocturnal possums that climb slowly and deliberately but skillfully in among branches, using all four feet with gripping, opposable toes and a prehensile tail with ridged figerprint-like pad on the underside for gripping branches. If necessary, however, they can move quickly and will jump across gaps. On the ground, they have a slow, bounding gait. Cuscuses eat fruit, leaves, and flowers. Their claws and teeth are sharp, and they will use these to defend themselves. Some of the more common species are described below:

• The common spotted cuscus Spilocuscus maculatus is a cat-sized cuscus found throughout New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. The males are spotted with large gray, brown, or orange blotches over a white background, while the females are entirely white or gray.
• The black-spotted cuscus Spilocuscus rufoniger is one of the largest possums. It lives in northern New Guinea. Little is known about its habits.
• The gray cuscuses Phalanger orientalis, Phalanger mimicus, and Phalanger intercastellanus are closely related cuscuses found throughout New Guinea and on part of Australia's Cape York Peninsula, and have been introduced to many nearby islands.
• The ground cuscus Phalanger gymnotis is found through much of New Guinea. It makes its home in a burrow in the ground, and is unusual among cuscuses in that it spends nearly as much time on the ground as in trees. When fighting, they stand on their hind legs and scratch with their front claws while hissing and barking.
• The bear cuscus Ailurops ursinus lives on the island of Sulawesi.
• The little Celebes cuscus Strigocuscus celebensis is found on Sulawesi.

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