The genus ''Petaurus'' () contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group 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 ...

possums native to

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 ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, and surrounding islands. There are eight species: 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 ...

savanna glider The savanna glider (''Petaurus ariel'') is a species of arboreal gliding possum in the genus ''Petaurus''. Taxonomy It was long considered a subspecies of the sugar glider (''P. breviceps''), but a 2020 study split ''P. breviceps'' into 3 disti ...

Krefft's glider Krefft's glider (''Petaurus notatus'') is a species of arboreal nocturnal gliding possum, a type of small marsupial. It is native to most of eastern mainland Australia and has been introduced to Tasmania. Populations of ''Petaurus'' from New Guin ...

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 ...

, mahogany glider,

northern glider The northern glider (''Petaurus abidi'') is a species of marsupial in the family Petauridae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea, becoming known to science in 1981 after being discovered in the Torricelli Mountains. This species has been found i ...

yellow-bellied glider The yellow-bellied glider (''Petaurus australis''), also known as the fluffy glider, is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in native eucalypt forests in eastern Australia, from northern Queensland south to Victoria. Habitat ...

and Biak glider. Flying phalangers are typically

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, most being small (sometimes around 400 mm, counting the tail), and have folds of loose skin (

patagia The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous Animal body, body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift (force), lift when gliding flight, gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant taxon, extant and extinct groups of flying and g ...

) running from the wrists to the ankles. They use the patagia to glide from tree to tree by jumping and holding out their limbs spread-eagle. They are able to glide for distances over 140 metres. Beside the distinctive

skin fold Skin folds or skinfolds are areas of skin that are naturally folded. 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 ind ...

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 An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...

s, and eat tree sap, gum,

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

, and insects, along with

manna Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...

and honeydew. 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 Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

and

s are relatively common, most of the other species are rare. The mahogany glider is the most threatened species in Australia and is listed as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

. They are so uncommon that they were not 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

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s, and another population was not found until 1991. The reasons for the endangered status of the mahogany glider include habitat degradation or loss, limited distribution, and the lack of habitat protection. Along with mahogany gliders, the

s (''Petaurus norfolcensis'') are also somewhat threatened as well. A 2020 study found that the true sugar glider (''P. breviceps'') also has a restricted range in Australia, making it far more threatened than initially thought.

Species

* Genus ''Petaurus'' **

Northern glider The northern glider (''Petaurus abidi'') is a species of marsupial in the family Petauridae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea, becoming known to science in 1981 after being discovered in the Torricelli Mountains. This species has been found i ...

, ''Petaurus abidi'' **

Savanna glider The savanna glider (''Petaurus ariel'') is a species of arboreal gliding possum in the genus ''Petaurus''. Taxonomy It was long considered a subspecies of the sugar glider (''P. breviceps''), but a 2020 study split ''P. breviceps'' into 3 disti ...

, ''Petaurus ariel'' **

Yellow-bellied glider The yellow-bellied glider (''Petaurus australis''), also known as the fluffy glider, is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in native eucalypt forests in eastern Australia, from northern Queensland south to Victoria. Habitat ...

, ''Petaurus australis'' ** Biak glider, ''Petaurus biacensis'' **

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 ...

, ''Petaurus breviceps'' ** Mahogany glider, ''Petaurus gracilis'' **

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 ...

, ''Petaurus norfolcensis'' **

, ''Petaurus notatus''

References

External links

Sugar Glider
- Tasmanian Government
Sugar Glider
Caffee Zoo
Yellow-Bellied Glider
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology

- Animal Info
Feathertail Glider
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Australia's Charismatic Glider Marsupials
BBC Travel

- (Images)
The Marsupial Society of Australia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1414895 . Marsupial genera Marsupials of Oceania Taxa named by George Shaw