Glider marsupial - The Sugar Gliders

The sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a marsupial gliding possum that is tiny, arboreal, omnivorous, and nocturnal. Its common name comes from its love of sugary foods including sap and nectar, as well as its capacity to glide via the air like a flying squirrel. Despite not being closely linked, they possess remarkably similar habits and looks to the flying squirrel—an instance of convergent evolution. Petaurus breviceps is a scientific name that means "short-headed rope-dancer" in Latin, referring to their canopy acrobatics. 

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The sugar glider animal is distinguished by a pair of gliding membranes called patagia that run from the forelegs to the hindlegs. Gliding is an effective way to reach food while avoiding predators. The animal has soft, pale grey to light brown fur that is countershaded, with the underside appearing lighter in colour. 

The sugar glider is only found in a tiny area of southeastern Australia, mostly in southern Queensland and New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range. Petaurus members are popular exotic pets and are often described as "sugar gliders," although these are now regarded to be another West Papuan species tentatively categorised as Krefft's glider.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Infraclass: Marsupialia

Order: Diprotodontia

Family:Petauridae

Genus: Petaurus

Distribution of Sugar Gliders

The coastal woods of southeastern Queensland and almost all of New South Wales are home to sugar gliders. In the eastern ranges, they can be found at altitudes of 2000 metres. Its range might coincide with Krefft's glider in some areas (P. notatus). The sugar glider lives in sympatry with the squirrel glider and the yellow-bellied glider, and their coexistence is made possible via niche partitioning, in which each species uses resources in different ways.

Sugar gliders, like most other arboreal, nocturnal marsupials, are nocturnal and hide in tree hollows surrounded with leafy twigs throughout the day. Sugar gliders have an average home range of 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres), which is mostly determined by the availability of food sources; density ranges from two to six individuals each hectare (0.8–2.4 per acre).

Their main predators are native owls (Ninox sp. ), but they also have kookaburras, snakes, goannas, and quolls in their habitat. Feral cats (Felis catus) pose a big menace as well.

Appearance and Anatomy

The body of a sugar glider resembles that of a squirrel, with a long, somewhat (weakly) prehensile tail. Males and females are around 24–30 cm (9–12 in) long from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, and males and females weigh 140 and 115 grams (5 and 4 oz) respectively. The heart rate should be between 200 and 300 beats per minute (bpm), and the respiratory rate should be between 16 and 40 breaths per minute. 

Sugar gliders are sexually dimorphic, with males often being larger than females. Sexual dimorphism has most probably developed as a result of enhanced mate competition originating from social group structure, and it is more prominent in greater latitude regions where mate competition is increased due to higher food availability. 

Sugar gliders do have thick, velvety fur coats that are normally blue-grey, however some have been observed to be tan, yellow, or (occasionally) albino. A black stripe runs from the tip of its nose to the middle of its back. It has a cream-colored belly, neck, and chest. Males possess four scent glands: two paracloacal (related with, but not component of, the cloaca, and that is the common entry for the digestive, urinary, and genital tracts) which are used to indicate group members and territory. Males' scent glands show as bald areas on the head and chest. Females do have scent glands in the pouch and a paracloacal scent gland, but no scent glands on the breast or forehead.

Sugar gliders are nocturnal, with huge eyes that let them see at night and swivel ears that assist them find prey in the dark. The eyes are spaced far apart to enable for more accurate triangulation while gliding from launch to landing places. Each sugar glider foot contains five digits, and each hind foot does have an opposable toe. These clawless opposable toes fold so that they may contact all of the other fingers, much like a human thumb, enabling it to grab branches firmly. The grooming comb is formed by the second and third digits of the hind foot, which are somewhat syndactylous (fused together). The forefoot's fourth digit is pointed and extended, making it easier to retrieve insects from beneath tree bark.

The gliding membrane connects the outside of every other forefoot's fifth digit to the first digit within each hind foot. This membrane helps the sugar glider to fly a long distance whenever the legs are spread out. The membrane is maintained by the well-developed humerodorsalis, tibiocarpalis, and tibioabdominalis muscles, which regulate its movement in conjunction with limb, trunk, and tail movement.

In the wild, they can live up to 9 years; in captivity, they can live up to 12 years, with a maximum reported longevity of 17.8 years.

Gliding

The sugar glider has been one of Australia's several volplane (gliding) flying possum. The fore- and hindlimbs are stretched at right angles to the body, and the feet are flexed upwards as it glides. The animal leaps from a tree and spreads its limbs to reveal the gliding membranes. This forms an aerofoil that can glide for up to 50 metres (55 yards). When gliding, it descends 1 metre for every 1.82 metre (6 ft 0 in) travelled horizontally (3 ft 3 in). Moving limbs and altering the tension of the gliding membrane regulate steering; for instance, to turn left, the left forearm is dropped far below the right forearm.

This type of arboreal movement is mostly employed to get from one tree to another; the species rarely lowers to the ground. Gliding allows for three-dimensional avoidance of arboreal predators and little interaction with ground-dwelling predators, and also significant time and energy savings from hunting for nutrient-poor, unevenly distributed meals. The septum which separates the young in a female's pouch from landing forces protects them from landing forces.

Diet and nutrition

Sugar gliders are omnivorous omnivores that eat a wide variety of foods and forage primarily in the bottom layer of the forest canopy. Sugar gliders can get nearly half of their daily water consumption from rainwater, with the rest coming from water stored in their diet. They are largely insectivorous in the summer, and exudativorous (feeding on manna, eucalyptus sap, acacia gum, honeydew or lerp) in the winter when insects (and certain other arthropods) are scarce. The caecum of sugar gliders is expanded to aid digestion of complex carbohydrates acquired from gum and sap.

Sugar gliders would tear the bark off trees or open bore holes utilizing their teeth to obtain reserved liquid in order to extract sap or gum from plants. Sugar gliders spend little time foraging for insects since it is an energy-intensive operation, and they prefer to wait until insects come into their habitat or stop feeding on flowers. Gliders eat about 11 grammes of dry food every day. For males and females, this translates to about 8% and 9.5 percent of body weight, respectively.

Reproduction

Female sugar gliders, like many of the marsupials, possess two ovaries and two uteri, and they are polyestrous, which means they could go into heat multiple times per year. To bear offspring, the female does have a marsupium (pouch) in the centre of her abdomen. When young are produced, the pouch expands anteriorly and two lateral pockets stretch posteriorly. Even though cases of individuals with two nipples were observed, the pouch normally has four nipples. To correlate to the two uteri of female sugar gliders, men do have bifurcated penis.

The period at which sugar gliders reach sexual maturity differs considerably between males and females. Males mature between the ages of 4 and 12 months, whereas females take between 8 and 12 months. Sugar gliders reproduce once or twice a year in the wild, based on climate and habitat circumstances, however in captivity, they can breed numerous times a year due to constant living conditions and a healthy nutrition.

Greater Glider

Three kinds of big gliding marsupials found in Australia are known as larger gliders. They were once thought to be the same species, Petauroides volans, until 2020. In 2020, physical and genetic distinctions discovered utilising diversity arrays technology revealed that this single name encompassed three species. Petauroides armillatus and Petauroides minor are the names of the two new species, respectively.

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These species are not strongly connected to the Petaurus gliding marsupials, but rather to Hemibelideus lemuroides, a lemur-like ringtail glider possum in which it includes the Hemibelideinae subfamily. Greater gliders are nocturnal solitary herbivores that consume Eucalyptus leaves and buds nearly entirely. Greater gliders come in two colours: sooty brown and grey-to-white, similar to their lemur-like relative, the ringtail.

Greater gliders can be spotted from Mossman, Queensland, to Daylesford, Victoria, in eucalypt woods.

Behaviour- Greater gliders are largely nocturnal, feeding in the highest regions of the forest canopy during night. They devote the majority of their time during the day denning in hollowed trees, with each species having up to twenty separate dens inside its own natural habitat. Leaves and strips of bark are frequently used to line the dens. That's why spotlighting is becoming a common method of locating population members. When a powerful light is shone into a glider's eyes, two glowing red orbs reflect back to the spectator.

Males and females would have home territories and construct boundaries between themselves and other individuals within forests. Males have 1.4 to 4.1 hectares of home territory, whereas females have just 1.3 to 3.0 hectares. Despite the fact that their home areas might overlap, the animals are mostly solitary outside of the breeding season and rarely interact. The home territories would be larger and smaller in large and small portions of forest, correspondingly.

Reproduction- Greater gliders have a short breeding season that lasts from February to May, with births taking place between April and June. Females do have fairly well-developed pouches with two teats that open towards the front of the animal. Each year, only one young is born.

The young weighs just approximately 0.27 grammes at birth, but it takes about four months to emerge from the pouch, through which time it is furred and fully formed. After it emerges from the pouch, the mother might hold it around on her back until it has been weaned at around seven months. At nine months, the young are self-sufficient, and between 18 months and two years following birth, they reach sexual maturity. Greater gliders have been known to live for as long as fifteen years.

Northern Glider:

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The northern glider (Petaurus abiri) is a marsupial species belonging to the Petauridae family. It is a Papua New Guinea endemic that was discovered in the Torricelli Mountains in 1981 and became recognized to scientists in 1981. This species was discovered in primary tropical moist forests in the mid-mountain range. It's also seen in rural gardens near the forest. Because its occurrence is fewer than 100 km2, all individuals are found in a single region, and habitat quality is declining owing to deforestation and human encroachment, the northern glider is classified as Critically Endangered. Hunting is also a significant threat to them.

What are Flying Phalanger?

Flying phalangers, also known as wrist-winged gliders, are a group of arboreal marsupials native to New Guinea, Australia, and nearby islands. Eight various species of phalangers have been known, namey: the sugar glider, Krefft's glider, savanna glider, mahogany glider, squirrel glider, yellow-bellied glider, northern glider, and Biak glider.

The majority of flying phalangers are nocturnal and seem to have creases of loose skin (patagia) stretching from the wrists to the ankles. They glide from tree to tree using the patagia by jumping and stretching out their limbs spread-eagle. They have the ability to glide for around 140 metres. Flying phalangers feature large, forward-facing eyes, small faces, and long flat tails that are employed as rudders during gliding, in addition to the characteristic skin folds.

Tree sap, pollen, nectar, gum, and insects, as well as manna and honeydew, are all consumed by these omnivores. Although the yellow-bellied glider and sugar glider are also reported to dwell in groups, the majority of flying phalangers tend to be solitary.

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Facts on Glider Marsupial

• Like their considerably larger kangaroo cousins, sugar glider babies are referred to as "joeys."

• These mammals can glide for nearly 100 feet without touching the ground because of thin membranes linked to their wrists and ankles.

• Their colonies are usually run by two males that share authority and other group responsibilities.

• Adults often have a grey-brown coat with dark stripes and a white underbelly.