Latest Petaurus Stories
BioMed Central Boys are right-handed, girls are left...Well at least this is true for sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) and grey short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica), finds an article in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, and shows that handedness in marsupials is dependent on gender. This preference of one hand over another has developed despite the absence of a corpus collosum, the part of the brain which in placental mammals allows one half of the...
Latest Petaurus Reference Libraries
The flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of squirrel (family Sciuridae). There are 43 species in this tribe, the largest of which is the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus). The 2 species of the genus Glaucomys (Glaucomys sabrinus and Glaucomys volans) are native to North America. It is these that are commonly meant when the name "flying squirrel" is used in English. The term "flying" is somewhat of an inappropriate, since flying...
The Feathertail Glider (Acrobates pygmaeus), also known as the Pygmy Gliding Possum, is the world's smallest gliding mammal. It is named for its long feather-shaped tail. Although only the size of a very small mouse 2.56 to 3.15 in and .35 to .49 oz (65 to 80 mm and 10 to 14 g), it can leap and glide long distances from tree to tree. It can glide up to 27 yards (25 meters). Like other gliding mammals, the Feathertail Glider has a skin membrane between the fore and hind legs. It is thicker...
The Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) is a flying possum of the marsupial family Petauridae. It is one of the wrist-winged gliders of the Petaurus genus. Like most of the wrist-winged gliders, the Squirrel Glider is endemic to Australia. It is about twice the size of the related Sugar Glider (P. breiceps). The Squirrel Glider eats mostly fruit and insects. They can glide up to 16.4 yards (15 m) from tree to tree. They tend not to glide in captivity.
The Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis), which is named for its mahogany-brown color, is a highly endangered possum. They are very similar in appearance to both the smaller sized Sugar Glider and Squirrel Glider. The Mahogany Glider is restricted to a very small area, between Ingham and Tully in North Queensland, Australia. The reason for the Mahogany Glider being one of Australia's most threatened species is loss of habitat. About 80% of habitat having been cleared for the growing of...
The Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps), sometimes called the Flying Sugar, is a small gliding possum. It is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and introduced to Tasmania. Physical description The Sugar Glider is around 6.3 to 7.5 in (16 to 20 cm) long, with a tail almost as long as the body. It weighs between 3 and 5.3 oz (90 to 150 g). The fur is generally pearl grey, with black and cream patches at the base of the black or grey...
