Sugar Glider
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| Petaurus breviceps Waterhouse, 1839 |
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The Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a small gliding possum native to eastern and northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and introduced to Tasmania.
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[edit] Physical description
The Sugar Glider is around 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 7.5 inches) in length, with a tail almost as long as the body and almost as thick as a human thumb, and weighs between 90 and 150 grams (3 to 5.3 oz). The fur is generally pearl Grey, with black and cream patches on the underbelly and black or grey ears. Other color variations include leucistic and albino recessive traits. The tail tapers only moderately and the last quarter of it is black, often with a dark tip. The muzzle is short and rounded. Northern forms tend to be brown colored rather than grey and, as predicted by Bergmann's Rule, smaller.
The most distinctive features of its anatomy, however, are the twin skin membranes called patagia which extend from the fifth finger of the forelimb back to the first toe of the hind foot. These are inconspicuous when the Sugar Glider is at rest – it merely looks a little flabby – but immediately obvious when it takes flight. The membranes are used to glide between trees: when fully extended they form an aerodynamic surface the size of a large handkerchief. Membranes are also used to gather food while hunting. The membrane has a thin sheet of fur surrounding it, but it is usually pink in color.
The gliding membranes are primarily used as an efficient way to get to food resources. They may also, as a secondary function, help the Sugar Glider escape predators like goannas, introduced foxes and cats, and the marsupial carnivores, such as quolls, the Kowari, mulgaras, and antechinuses that foxes, cats, and dingos largely supplanted. The ability to glide from tree to tree is clearly of little value with regard to the Sugar Glider's avian predators, however, in particular owls and kookaburras.
Although its aerial adaptation looks rather clumsy in comparison to the highly specialised limbs of birds and bats, the Sugar Glider can glide for a surprisingly long distance — flights have been measured at over 50 meters (55 yd) — and steer effectively by curving one patagium or the other. It uses its hind legs to thrust powerfully away from a tree, and when about 3 meters (3 yd) from the destination tree trunk, brings its hind legs up close to the body and swoops upwards to make contact with all four limbs together.
[edit] Taxonomy
There are seven subspecies of P. breviceps:
- P. b. breviceps (Waterhouse, 1839)
- P. b. longicaudatus (Longman, 1924)
- P. b. ariel (Gould, 1842)
- P. b. flavidus (Tate & Archbold, 1935)
- P. b. papuanus (Thomas, 1888)
- P. b. tafa (Tate & Archbold, 1935)
- P. b. biacensis (Ulmer, 1940)
[edit] Habitat
In the wilds of its native habitat, the Sugar Glider is a tree dwelling creature, often living in groups of 15 to 30[citation needed]. It is active by night when it hunts for insects and small vertebrates and feeds on the sweet sap of certain species of eucalyptus, acacia and gum trees. The Sugar Glider is so named for its preference for sweet foods and its ability to glide through the air like a flying squirrel[citation needed].
The Sugar Glider can occupy any area where there are tree hollows for shelter and sufficient food. Its diet varies considerably with both geography and the changing seasons, but the main items are the sap of acacias and certain Eucalyptus, nectar, pollen, and arthropods. It is difficult to see in the wild, being small, wary, and nocturnal, but a sure sign of its presence is the stripping of bark and tooth marks left in the soft, green shoots of acacia trees.
In suitable habitats it is common, often reaching densities of 1 per 1,000 square metres provided that there are tree hollows available for shelter. It lives in groups of up to seven adults, plus the current season's young, all sharing a nest and defending their territory. Adult males mark the territory with saliva and with a scent produced by separate glands on the forehead and chest, and also mark members of the group with this scent. Visitors which lack the appropriate scent marking are expelled violently. The dominant male mates more frequently with the female of the group than the other males, and does most of the scent marking. When an adult member of the group dies, it is normally replaced either by one of the group's own offspring if female, but by an outsider if male.
In the more temperate south, breeding starts in mid-winter (June or July). In the north, there seems to be no particular breeding season. Two young per female is typical; they remain in the pouch for about 70 days, and after leaving it stays inside the nest for another 40 or 50 days, then begin to forage outside, usually under the care of the mother. The young are normally ejected from the group territory at 7 to 10 months of age. Sometimes they form new groups if an area is vacant, but competition for territory is fierce and not many survive the first months of independent life. In captivity, they may live up to fifteen years.
[edit] Conservation status
Unlike many native animals, particularly smaller ones, the Sugar Glider is not endangered.[3] Despite the massive loss of natural habitat in Australia over the last 200 years, it is adaptable and capable of living in surprisingly small patches of remnant bush, particularly if it does not have to cross large expanses of clear-felled land to reach them. Several close relatives, however, are endangered, particularly Leadbeater's Possum and the Mahogany Glider (which, to the non-expert, looks almost exactly like a Sugar Glider). The Sugar Glider is protected by law in Australia, where it is illegal to keep them without a permit,[4] or to capture or sell them without a licence (which is usually only issued for research).
[edit] Sugar Gliders as pets
Where legal, the Sugar Glider is not difficult to breed in captivity under the right conditions, and small numbers have been legally and illegally exported to America where they have formed a breeding population for sale as pets. The Sugar Glider is a popular pet because of its lively and inquisitive nature; with plenty of attention, it bonds well to human companions.
Sugar Gliders bred and kept in captivity behave differently than those in the wild[citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 55. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group (1996). Petaurus breviceps. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- ^ Gliders - Monash University
- ^ Fauna Permits — Government of South Australia
[edit] External links
- Gliders in the Spotlight — Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland
- Sugar Glider — Australian Fauna
- Tasmanian Parks information about the Sugar Glider
- Information regarding health and diet of Captive Sugar Gliders
