The central greater glider (''Petauroides armillatus'') is a species of gliding

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

native to the central coast of

eastern Australia The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east continental coastline of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania. The Australian Capital Territory ...

Taxonomy

It was initially described as a subspecies of '' Petauroides volans'', which alongside ''

Petauroides minor The northern greater glider (''Petauroides minor'') is a species of gliding marsupial endemic to the forests of north-central Queensland, Australia. Taxonomy It was initially described as a subspecies of ''Petauroides volans'', which alongsid ...

'' formerly comprised a single species known simply as the

greater glider The greater gliders are three species of large gliding marsupials in the genus ''Petauroides'', all of which are found in eastern Australia. Until 2020 they were considered to be one species, '' Petauroides volans''. In 2020 morphological and gen ...

. It was shortly after synonymized with ''P. v. minor''. However, in 2012 and 2015, several field guides written by Colin Groves and/or Stephen Jackson listed the greater glider as being split into 3 species, which was confirmed by a 2020 analysis, which found significant genetic and morphological differences between the three species. The

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

now considers it a distinct species. There is some evidence of hybridization between this species and ''P. minor'' near the northern edge of its range.

Distribution

Although Jackson and Groves listed the species as ranging from just north of

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

south to the Eungella Range, genetic analysis by McGregor ''et al''. has found the southern limit of the species' range to extend at least as far as

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and likely even further south. Due to insufficient sampling from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, the exact borders between the range of ''P. armillatus'' and ''P. volans'' remains unknown.

Description

This species is intermediate in size between ''P. volans'' and ''P. minor''. It is similar to ''P. minor'' in body length, and similar to ''P. volans'' in ear length and width. It can be distinguished from the other two species by its brownish-silver

pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

, with a dark brown face, legs, and tail, and a cream underside.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q50365762 Gliding possums Endemic fauna of Australia Mammals of Queensland Mammals described in 1923 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas