A viral Reddit post is giving the internet a closer look at one of the animal kingdom's more unexpectedly adorable creatures.
Viewers were stunned by the common spotted cuscus, whose monkey-like looks are a little misleading.
The tree-dwelling animal is not a primate at all, but an animal much closer on the family tree to kangaroos.
What happened?
The animal appears in a post on the r/NatureIsF******Lit subreddit, where the original poster shared a striking image of the common spotted cuscus.
The photo shows the cuscus perched in a tree, with large eyes, rounded ears, and a coat marked by dark spots that make it look almost unreal.
A closer investigation suggests the image may have been enhanced to increase the color contrast, although some photos on iNaturalist do show spotted cuscuses with a very similar coat.
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It is native to New Guinea and northern Australia, and the OP immediately cleared up a misconception about the adorable-looking animal.
"Despite looking a bit like a monkey or lemur, the cuscus is actually a marsupial, more closely related to possums and kangaroos," they wrote.
Why does it matter?
Tree-dwelling marsupials, such as the cuscus, depend on healthy forest habitats in New Guinea and northern Australia.
One commenter noted that the cuscus "is shy and slow moving, and will freeze if threatened to try and blend into the trees." That kind of camouflage helps it to survive in the wild.
Australian Geographic noted that the animal is also nocturnal, which helps with protection. When sleeping during the day, the cuscus will hide inside vegetation, such as palm fronds, to avoid detection from birds and other predators.
A post on Medium Critter Science observed that the common spotted cuscus has a stable population and is under the "least concern" classification by The International Union for Conservation of Nature.
What are people saying?
Commenters were taken aback by the creature's appearance.
"I've never seen a mammal that looks so much like a tropical fish," one reacted.
"I love when the animal has the word 'common' in it and it's the most goofy looking creature I've never heard about," added another. "Why does cuscus look like a cow, monkey and a cat at the same time?"
"The marsupial so nice they named it twice," a third commenter quipped.
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