Yellow-bellied glider
| Yellow-bellied glider | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Petauridae |
| Genus: | Petaurus |
| Species: | P. australis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Petaurus australis Shaw, 1791 |
|
 |
|
| distribution | |
The yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) is an arboreal and nocturnalgliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.
The yellow-bellied glider inhabits forests and woodlands in eastern Australia and is found at a range of altitudes from sea level to 1400 metres .
In North Queensland, the sub-species occurs at altitudes over 700 m above sea level. With natural discontinuities and habitat clearings, there are 13 different populations in three distinct places to find this glider in North Queensland. One population resides on Mount Windsor Tableland, another on Mount Carbine Tableland, and the third lives in a linear habitat going from Atherton to Kirrama on the Atherton Tableland. These three populations together are estimated to contain around 6000 individual gliders. With their habitat in danger, the yellow-bellied glider is classified as uncommon to rare and is named vulnerable to the tropics. This species is more widespread in southern Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
The yellow-bellied glider is a marsupial about the size of a rabbit. It typically has grey-brown fur on its back and has an off-white to orange or yellow belly. It has large pointed ears and a long tail that can grow to reach 48 cm in length. Its body length is smaller reaching to about 30 cm long and the marsupial weighs a total of 700 g. The males are usually bigger than the females.
There are two subspecies:
The yellow-bellied glider is the largest species of Petaurus, the wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal marsupials, and can glide up to 150 m. The yellow-bellied glider has been observed to jump up to 100 m or 114 m.
It is similar in appearance to the mahogany glider, although slightly larger in size. It is also similar in appearance to the greater glider, a species that is more closely related to the lemur-like ringtail possum than to the other members of the Petaurus genus.
...
Wikipedia