[Fr. spelling of a native Moluccas word, in Du. spelling koeskoes.] A marsupial quadruped, the Spotted Phalanger of the Moluccas (Cuscus maculatus).

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1839.  Penny Cycl., XIV. 460. Cuscus maculatus … named Coescoes at the Moluccas…. At Wagiou … the natives call it Scham-scham.

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1880.  Libr. Univ. Knowl., IV. 411. Couscous, or Spotted Phalanger, a marsupial animal [in Spice Islands].

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