Petaurus
Encyclopedia
The genus Petaurus contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal marsupial
s. There are six species, Sugar Glider
, Squirrel Glider
, Mahogany Glider
, Northern Glider
, Yellow-bellied Glider
and Biak Glider
, and are native to Australia
or New Guinea
.
Flying phalangers are typically nocturnal, most being small (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 glide for distances over 140 metres. Beside the distinctive skin fold
s, 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 omnivore
s, 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.
s, and another population wasn't found until 1991.
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
s. There are six species, Sugar Glider
Sugar Glider
The sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...
, Squirrel Glider
Squirrel Glider
The Squirrel Glider is a nocturnal gliding possum, one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus Petaurus.-Habitat:...
, Mahogany Glider
Mahogany Glider
The mahogany glider is an endangered gliding possum native to a small region of coastal Queensland.-Appearance:A nocturnal arboreal marsupial, the mahogany glider closely resembles the sugar glider, the squirrel glider and the yellow-bellied glider., but is noticeably larger than any of its...
, Northern Glider
Northern Glider
The Northern Glider is a species of marsupial in the Petauridae family. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is dry savanna....
, Yellow-bellied Glider
Yellow-bellied Glider
The Yellow-bellied Glider is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.-Habitat:...
and Biak Glider
Biak Glider
The Biak Glider is a species of marsupial in the Petauridae family. It is endemic to the Schouten Islands in West Papua of Indonesia....
, and are native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
or New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
Flying phalangers are typically nocturnal, most being small (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 glide for distances over 140 metres. Beside the distinctive skin fold
Skin fold
Skin folds are areas of skin where it folds. Many skin folds are distinct, heritable anatomical features, and may be used for identification of animal species, while others are non-specific and may be produced either by individual development of an organism or by arbitrary application of force to...
s, 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 omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
s, and eat tree sap, gum
Natural gum
Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers...
, nectar, pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
, and insects, along with manna
Manna Gum
Eucalyptus viminalis, Manna Gum, also known as White Gum, Ribbon Gum or Viminalis is an Australian eucalypt.It is a straight erect tree, often around 40 metres tall, with rough bark on the trunk and base of larger branches, its upper bark peels away in long "ribbons" which can collect on the...
and honeydew
Honeydew (secretion)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...
. Most flying phalangers appear to be solitary, though the Yellow-bellied Glider and Sugar Glider are both known to live in groups.
Conservation status
While Biak and Sugar Gliders are relatively common, most of the other species are rare. Mahogany Gliders are endangered, and 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 plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s, and another population wasn't found until 1991.
Species
- Genus Petaurus
- Northern GliderNorthern GliderThe Northern Glider is a species of marsupial in the Petauridae family. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is dry savanna....
, Petaurus abidi - Yellow-bellied GliderYellow-bellied GliderThe Yellow-bellied Glider is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.-Habitat:...
, Petaurus australis - Biak GliderBiak GliderThe Biak Glider is a species of marsupial in the Petauridae family. It is endemic to the Schouten Islands in West Papua of Indonesia....
, Petaurus biacensis - Sugar GliderSugar GliderThe sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...
, Petaurus breviceps - Mahogany GliderMahogany GliderThe mahogany glider is an endangered gliding possum native to a small region of coastal Queensland.-Appearance:A nocturnal arboreal marsupial, the mahogany glider closely resembles the sugar glider, the squirrel glider and the yellow-bellied glider., but is noticeably larger than any of its...
, Petaurus gracilis - Squirrel GliderSquirrel GliderThe Squirrel Glider is a nocturnal gliding possum, one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus Petaurus.-Habitat:...
, Petaurus norfolcensis
- Northern Glider
External links
- 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