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Two hundred years ago Sydney Harbour supported a diverse array of marsupials ranging in size from the Swamp Wallaby Wallabia bicolor to the tiny Feathertail Glider Acrobates pygmaeus.
The Australian Museum's collection contains representatives of eleven different marsupials that lived around the harbour during the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s. Koalas, Sugar Gliders, Spotted-tailed Quolls, Common Dunnarts and Brown Antechinus were all present but have disappeared over the last 200 years as a result of the combined pressures of habitat clearance and predation by dogs and cats. Fortunately most of these species still survive in bushland to the north and south of the city in pockets of suitable habitat.
Today the Common Brushtail Possum and the Common Ringtail Possum are the only marsupials that inhabit the harbour area in reasonable numbers. They occupy remnant bushland, parks and many suburban backyards feeding on leaves, flowers and fruits from a range of native and introduced plant species (including rosebuds in the case of the Ringtail Possum).
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