WA possum peril as numbers dwindle

Western ringtail possums face extinction in the wild as feral predators, fire and habitat loss continue to threaten them.

The nocturnal marsupial, which is found only in Western Australia's southern forests region, has been upgraded from vulnerable to endangered on the state's specially protected wildlife list.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob said a recovery plan to boost the possum population had been prepared and other efforts, such as feral predator control, would continue.

The shrub Banksia verticillata, known as Albany banksia, has been upgraded from vulnerable to critically endangered as bushfires, dieback and the fungus aerial canker wipe out its numbers on the south coast.

This year, eight plant and one animal species were added to WA's threatened wildlife list, which monitors the conservation status of 669 species.

A low spreading shrub, scholtzia sp. bickley, was added to the presumed extinct list because it has not been found since a single specimen was collected in the Bickley area in 1920.