Gliding squirrel bucket
| Gliding squirrel bucket | ||||||||||||
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Short-headed gliding pouch ( Petaurus breviceps ) |
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| Petaurus | ||||||||||||
| Shaw , 1791 |
The Gleithörnchenbeutler or actual Gleitbeutler ( Petaurus ) are a genus with eight species from the family of Gleitbeutler (Petauridae). They are bag mammals that, like the unrelated gliding squirrels , have developed a gliding membrane between the limbs. The name Petaurus was derived from Petaurium , which was the Latin word for a springboard for Roman athletes.
distribution
Flying squirrel bucks are common in northern and eastern Australia , on New Guinea and its offshore islands and on the Moluccan island of Halmahera .
description
The most striking feature of the gliding squirrel pouches are the gliding membranes that extend from the wrists to the ankles and are simply unfolded by stretching out the limbs. Their silky fur is gray-brown on the upper side, the underside is lighter, whitish or yellow. A black line of fur runs along the spine from the forehead to the tail, and there are other black fur markings on the face. They reach a head body length of 12 to 32 centimeters and a weight of 80 to 710 grams. The tail is long and bushy, it becomes 15 to 48 centimeters long. Gliding squirrel bags usually have four, and occasionally two, mammary glands .
Way of life
These animals are predominantly inhabitants of open forest areas and are primarily nocturnal. During the day they retreat to a leaf nest in a tree hollow. At night they search for food, where they can glide more than 100 meters and, thanks to the control by the tail, they can also change direction.
They mostly live together in small groups, which are often made up of a monogamous couple and several generations of offspring and live in a fixed territory that is vehemently defended against intruders. The group members communicate with one another by means of a series of calls, also during the gliding flight.
food
Gliding squirrel bucks are omnivores that eat tree sap, flowers and nectar as well as insects, spiders and small vertebrates.
Reproduction
While there is no fixed mating season in the north of their range, in the south (in southeastern Australia) most births occur in winter or spring (June to November). The gestation period is around 16 to 21 days, the litter size one or two, rarely three. Young animals spend the first 70 to 100 days in their mother's pouch, then another two months in the nest, where both parents take care of them. They become sexually mature at around two years of age. The maximum known age of an animal in captivity was 14 years.
species
- The short-headed gliding pouch ( Petaurus breviceps ) is the best known and most widespread species. It lives in eastern Australia east of the Great Dividing Range and the gliding squirrel pouches that occur on Halmahera and New Guinea are currently still included in this species. It is one of the smallest members of its genus.
- The middle flying squirrel hawk ( P. norfolcensis ) inhabits the whole east and southeast of Australia. It is similar to the short-head glide bag, but it is significantly larger.
- The large flying squirrel bucket ( P. australis ) is the largest member of its genus and also lives in eastern Australia. He is characterized by the clearly weaker facial markings and by a generally brown coat color.
- The mahogany flying squirrel bucket ( Petaurus gracilis ) is only found in a small area in northeast Queensland . Deforestation endangers this species, whose population is estimated at only 2500 animals and which is therefore classified as endangered by the IUCN .
- The northern flying squirrel hawk ( Petaurus abidi ) was only described as a species in 1981 and is found in northern New Guinea.
- The Biak flying squirrel hawk ( P. biacensis ) is endemic to Biak on the northwest coast of New Guinea. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the short-headed glider pouch
- The North Australian short-headed glider ( Petaurus ariel ) is found in northern Australia and was considered a subspecies of Petaurus breviceps until July 2020 .
- Petaurus notatus lives in eastern Australia from northern Queensland to the extreme southeast of South Australia and was introduced to Tasmania. The species is absenteast of the Great Dividing Range .
Other, previously undescribed species of flying squirrel are said to exist on the Cape York Peninsula and in the central Kimberley .
Cladogram of the flying squirrel bag:
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Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0801857898 , p. 139.
- ↑ a b c d e Teigan Cremona, Andrew M Baker, Steven JB Cooper, Rebecca Montague-Drake, Alyson M Stobo-Wilson, Susan M Carthew: Integrative taxonomic investigation of Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia: Petauridae) reveals three distinct species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, July 13, 2020; doi: 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlaa060
