The savanna glider (''Petaurus ariel'') is a species of

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

gliding possum There are many different types of gliding possum, sometimes referred to as volplane possum, flying phalangers, or simply as gliders: Australian gliders * Feathertail glider or pygmy gliding possum, ''Acrobates pygmaeus'' * Greater glider, ''Petau ...

in the genus ''

Petaurus The genus ''Petaurus'' () contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal possums native to Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands. There are eight species: the sugar glider, savanna glider, Krefft's glider, squ ...

''.

Taxonomy

It was long considered a subspecies of the

sugar glider The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability ...

(''P. breviceps''), but a 2020 study split ''P. breviceps'' into 3 distinct species, with ''P. ariel'' being found to represent one of these distinct species.

Names

The

Bininj The Bininj are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Arnhem land in the Northern Territory. The sub-groups of Bininj are sometimes referred to by the various language dialects spoken in the region, that is, the group of dialects known as Bi ...

of western

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

, Australia call this animal lambalk in their

Kunwinjku language Kunwinjku is a dialect of Bininj Kunwok, an Australian Aboriginal language. The Aboriginal people who speak Kunwinjku are the Bininj people, who live primarily in western Arnhem Land. As Kunwinjku is the most widely spoken dialect of Bininj Ku ...

Description

The species somewhat resembles a small

squirrel glider The squirrel glider (''Petaurus norfolcensis'') is a nocturnal gliding possum. The squirrel glider is one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus '' Petaurus''. Habitat This species' home range extends from Bordertown near the South Australia ...

(''P. norfolcensis'') with a pointed nose. It displays substantial body size variation throughout its range; in the northern, more coastal portions, it is small enough to be considered the smallest of all Australian ''Petaurus''. However, in the arid inland parts of its range to the south, it can grow to be twice as large.

Distribution

The species lives in the wooded

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s of northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It ranges from northwestern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

west through the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

(including most of the

Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in five ...

) to northern

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Reproduction

, breeding is not seasonally restricted and young may be born throughout the year.

Threats

The species is threatened by heavy declines that have been reported to have affected many other small, tree-dwelling mammal species in northern Australia. The species has undergone a 35% range reduction over the past 3 decades, and is disappearing from inland areas. These declines are thought to be linked to

feral cats A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

, changed

fire regime A fire regime is the pattern, frequency, and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevail in an area over long periods of time. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. A fire regime describes th ...

s, and feral herbivores.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107410437 Gliding possums Marsupials of Australia Mammals of Queensland Mammals of the Northern Territory Mammals of Western Australia Mammals described in 1842