Broad-footed feather-tail sliding pouches
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| Acrobates frontalis | ||||||||||||
| de Vis , 1887 |
The broad-footed feather-tail glider ( Acrobates frontalis ) is a species of marsupial from the family of dwarf glider ( Acrobatidae), which occurs in eastern Australia from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to the south of Victoria .
description
Broad-footed feather-tail gliders reach a head body length of 50 to 70 millimeters, have a 60 to 75 millimeter long tail and reach a weight of 8 to 18 grams. Males are on average about 10% larger than females and their size decreases from south to north of the range ( Bergmann's rule ), so that the males in the north of the range are the same size as the females. The tail has short, stiff hairs on both sides that give it a feathery look. In young animals it is shorter than in older animals relative to the body length. The back, the top of the head, the top of the limbs and the sliding membrane are brownish to dark gray. The underside and a 1 to 2 millimeter wide zone on the edge of the tail are cream-colored or gray. Ears and toes are only sparsely hairy. From its sister species, the narrow-footed feather-tail glide bag ( Acrobates pygmaeus ), the broad- footed feather-tail glide bag differs only in the shape of the ball of the foot, which is heart-shaped and wider than it is long, while the broad-footed feather-tail glide bag has round pads that are of the same length as width. The furrows between the balls of the feet are clearly formed in the broad-footed feather-tail glide bag.
Habitat and behavior
Broad-footed feather-tail gliders live in closed and open forests from sea level to heights of 700 meters. South of the McPherson Range on the border of New South Wales and Queensland, it occurs in large parts of the distribution area sympatric with the narrow-footed feather-tail glider. More detailed studies on nutrition, behavior and reproduction, which distinguish the two species, are not yet available. More in the article on the genus .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ken Aplin: Family Acrobatidae (Feather-tailed Gliders and Feather-tailed Possum). Page 590 a. 591 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6