Cuscus
Cuscus (/ˈkʌskʌs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/) is a common name given to the species belonging to four genera of Australasian possums in the family Phalangeridae: Ailurops, Phalanger, Spilocuscus, and Strigocuscus.[1]
The name comes from the word kusu or kuso in some local related languages spoken in the Maluku Islands like Bacan and Ambonese Malay.[2] It is also applied in parts of Indonesia to the Sunda slow loris, where people do not distinguish this from the "kuskus" possums. Note however, that the loris, being a primate, is unrelated to the other cuscus species. Cuscus are marsupials, even though they have some appearances, traits and attributes like those of lemurs of Madagascar, which are prosimians,[3] due to convergent evolution.