- Petaurus
Taxobox
name = "Petaurus"
image_width = 250px
image_caption =Sugar Glider
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
infraclassis =Marsupialia
ordo =Diprotodontia
familia =Petauridae
genus = "Petaurus"
genus_authority = Shaw,1791
type_species = "Petaurus australis"
type_species_authority = Shaw,1791
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* "Petaurus breviceps"
* "Petaurus australis"
* "Petaurus gracilis"
* "Petaurus abidi"
* "Petaurus biancensis"
* "Petaurus norfolcensis"The genus "Petaurus" contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group ofarboreal marsupial s. There are six species,Sugar Glider ,Squirrel Glider ,Mahogany Glider ,Northern Glider ,Yellow-bellied Glider andBiak Glider , and are native toAustralia orNew 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 travel for distances as long as 100 meters. Beside the distinctiveskin 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 withmanna 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 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 in1883 . Nearly a month after they were rediscovered in1989 , their habitat was cleared forplantation s, and another population wasn't found until1991 .pecies
* Genus "Petaurus"
**Northern Glider , "Petaurus abidi"
**Yellow-bellied Glider , "Petaurus australis"
**Biak Glider , "Petaurus biacensis"
**Sugar Glider , "Petaurus breviceps"
**Mahogany Glider , "Petaurus gracilis"
**Squirrel Glider , "Petaurus norfolcensis"References
* [http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHAN-53J8XS?open Sugar Glider] - Tasmanian Government
* [http://www.chaffeezoo.org/animals/sugarGlider.html Sugar Glider] - Caffee Zoo
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/petaurus/p._australis Yellow-Bellied Glider] - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
* [http://www.animalinfo.org/species/petagrac.htm Mahogany Glider] - Animal Info
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/acrobates/a._pygmaeus Feathertail Glider] - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
* [http://www.nws-wiesbaden.de/coll043.html Marsupials and Monotremes of the Museum of Wiesbaden] - (Images)
* [http://www.marsupialsociety.org The Marsupial Society of Australia]
* [http://www.chaffeezoo.org/animals/marsupialsTheirWay.html about Marsupials]References
*MSW3 Groves|pages=54-55
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