Petaurus
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| Petaurus australis Shaw, 1791 |
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The genus Petaurus contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal marsupials. There are six species, Sugar Glider, Squirrel Glider, Mahogany Glider, Northern Glider, Yellow-bellied Glider and Biak Glider, and all are native to Australia.
Flying phalangers are typically nocturnal, most being small in size (sometimes around 400 mm, counting the tail), and have folds of loose skin running from the wrists to the ankles. They use this skin to glide from tree to tree by jumping and holding out their limbs spread-eagle. They're able to travel for distances as long as 100 meters. Beside the distinctive skin folds, flying phalangers also have large, forward facing eyes, short (though pointed faces), and long, flat tails which are used as rudders while gliding.
All are omnivores, and eat tree sap, gum, nectar, pollen, and insects, along with manna and honeydew. Most flying phalangers appear to be solitary, though the Yellow-bellied Glider and Sugar Glider are both known to live in groups.
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[edit] Conservation status
While Biak and Sugar Gliders are relatively common, most of the other species are rare, or, in the case of Mahogany Glider, endangered. Mahogany Gliders are so uncommon that they weren't seen for more than a hundred years after their original discovery in 1883. Nearly a month after they were rediscovered in 1989, their habitat was cleared for plantations, and another population wasn't found until 1991.
[edit] Species
- Genus Petaurus
- Northern Glider, Petaurus abidi
- Yellow-bellied Glider, Petaurus australis
- Biak Glider, Petaurus biacensis
- Sugar Glider, Petaurus breviceps
- Mahogany Glider, Petaurus gracilis
- Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis
[edit] References
- Sugar Glider - Tasmanian Government
- Sugar Glider - Caffee Zoo
- Yellow-Bellied Glider - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Mahogany Glider - Animal Info
- Feathertail Glider - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Marsupials and Monotremes of the Museum of Wiesbaden - (Images)
- The Marsupial Society of Australia
- about Marsupials
[edit] References
- Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 54-55. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
