---
title: "Northern Common Cuscus"
description: "Phalanger orientalis — Mammals. The northern common cuscus (Phalanger orientalis), also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, southeast and central Moluccas, the Solomons, and Timor, where it is believed to have been introduced in prehistoric times from New Guinea."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/northern-common-cuscus
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Northern Common Cuscus

> Phalanger orientalis — Mammals. The northern common cuscus (Phalanger orientalis), also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, southeast and central Moluccas, the Solomons, and Timor, where it is believed to have been introduced in prehistoric times from New Guinea.

- Scientific name: *Phalanger orientalis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 133
- Wikidata: [Q209996](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q209996)
- iNaturalist taxon: [42825](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42825)

## Names

- en: Northern Common Cuscus
- de: Grauer Kuskus
- es: Cusc
- fr: Couscous De La Sonde
- nl: Witte koeskoes

## Countries with the most observations

ID (125)

## Summary

The northern common cuscus (Phalanger orientalis), also known as the gray cuscus, is a species of marsupial in the family Phalangeridae native to northern New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands, but is now also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, southeast and central Moluccas, the Solomons, and Timor, where it is believed to have been introduced in prehistoric times from New Guinea. It was formerly considered conspecific with the allopatric P. intercastellanus and P. mimicus.
It is hunted for human consumption in New Guinea.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_common_cuscus

## Photo

![Northern Common Cuscus](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/northern-common-cuscus/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192902247

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/northern-common-cuscus?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).