The Mountain Pygmy-possum is listed as Endangered (Schedule 1) on the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, and Endangered (Schedule 1, Part 1) on the Commonwealths Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Unlike other small possums it is ground-dwelling, living in boulderfield patches in subalpine and alpine areas of the Snowy Mountains of south-eastern NSW and the high country of Victoria. It is the largest of the pygmy possums, weighing approximately 40 grams in summer but reaching up to 80 grams in autumn, when it fattens for winter and hibernates under an insulating cover of snow, which blankets its habitat for up to 5 months of the year.
It is the only Australian mammal that depends on winter snow cover for its survival, and is an icon species for the Australian Alps.
