The honey possum or noolbenger (Tarsipes rostratus), is a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering plants.

The common names include those cited or coined by Gilbert, Gould and Ellis Troughton, honey and long-snouted phalanger, tait and noolbenger in the local languages, or the descriptive brown barred mouse.

An ethnographic survey of Noongar words recorded for the species found three names were in use, and proposed that these be regularised for spelling and pronunciation as ngoolboongoor (ngool'bong'oor), djebin (dje'bin) and dat.

They resemble a small mouse or the arboreal possums of Australia, and are readily distinguished by the exceptionally long muzzle and three brown stripes from the head to the rump.

The bristle-like papillae at the upper surface of the tongue increase in length toward the tip, and this is used to gather the pollen and nectar by rapidly wiping it into the inflorescence.

[19] Although restricted to a fairly small range in the southwest of Western Australia, it is locally common and does not seem to be threatened with extinction so long as its habitat of heath, shrubland, and woodland[19] remains intact and diverse.

Records of locations held at the Western Australian Museum indicate they are more common in regions of high Proteaceae diversity, areas such as banksia woodlands where species can be found flowering at all times of the year.

Tarsipe rostratus is a keystone species in the ecology of the coastal sands of Southwest Australia, complex assemblages of plants known as kwongan, and are likely to be the primary pollinator of woody shrubs such as banksia and Adenanthos.

The effect of increased frequency and intensity of fire, due to global warming and prescribed burns can adversely affect the suitability of the local habitat.

The flowers of the nine plant species most favoured by T. rostratus provide food throughout the year, and five of these are vulnerable to the withering condition caused by P. cinnamomi pathogen.

[9][14] Honey possums continue to be an iconic animal to the people of the region, and was selected by Amok Island to feature in a large public art project on silos in the wheatbelt.

[30] The first report of the species was compiled by John Gilbert, the careful and thorough field collector commissioned by Gould to travel to the new colony at the Swan River on the west coast of Australia.

[9] The next major field study was undertaken by the mammalogist Ellis Troughton at the suggestion of H. L. White, who provided an introduction to the professional collector F. Lawson Whitlock.

Troughton was eventually provided with a series of a dozen specimens when he was preparing to leave Albany port, a collection assembled over many years by the cats of Hugh Leishman at Nannarup.

The collection of the Australian Museum was increased when Morgan continued to forward specimens to Troughton, firstly with two pregnant females that were also killed by a cat, and then with a report of living animals he was able to maintain in captivity for five to six weeks.

[8] Closer study of the reproductive processes was allowed by the capture, extended observation and dissection of the species in University programs, the first success in captivity beginning in 1974.

[31] The population structure and feeding habits of T. rostratus was poorly understood until a biological study at the Fitzgerald River National Park was completed in 1984.

[9] A diet consisting entirely of nectar is unusual for a terrestrial vertebrate species, usually birds and flying mammals, and specialisation to the niche provided by the success of plant families Proteaceae and Myrtaceae began around forty million years ago.