[3] It has a bushier tail when compared to other ringtails, and can be distinguished from the greater glider by its lack of gliding membrane and much shorter, hairless ears.

[6] They are strictly arboreal and live in the high canopies of mature forests and favour particular tree types, usually found above 480–900 metres in elevation.

[3] Stephen Williams, researcher on climate change and biodiversity at the Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change at James Cook University, Queensland, stated that none were seen for several years after the heat waves of 2005, when first a few were spotted (three were observed in the Daintree National Park, on Cape York Peninsula in 2009[7]) then increasing numbers as they slowly recovered.

Many tropical species cannot cope with extreme heat, not having evolved mechanisms to cool their bodies down, according to Williams; they can die from temperatures above 29 degrees.

This puts pressure on creatures living in the mountain summits such as the lemuroid possum, which have nowhere else to go; the nearest rainforest is 1000 kilometres away.