glider
, any of about six small phalangers?marsupial mammals of Australasia?that volplane from tree to tree like flying squirrels. Most have well-developed flaps of skin along the flanks; these become sails when the limbs are extended. An eastern Australian species, which feeds on nectar and insects, is the pygmy glider, or
feathertail
(
Acrobates pygmaeus
), only 15 cm (6 inches) in total length; it has narrow side flaps, and its 8-centimetre-long tail is stiffly haired laterally?a “feather” that helps it to navigate. The 25-centimetre-long pen-tailed
phalanger
(
Distoechurus pennatus
) of
New Guinea
lacks the flaps; its tail is furry at the base but otherwise featherlike.
The three species of lesser, or sugar, gliders (
Petaurus
) are 25 to 80 cm long. An example is the
short-headed glider
(
P. breviceps
) found from New Guinea to Tasmania; it is blue-gray with a dark centre stripe and has a long bushy tail. These animals can glide 55 m (180 feet). The greater glider (
Schoinobates volans
) of eastern
Australia
may be 105 cm long; it often glides 100 m or more. It has adapted to eating leaves and is sometimes classified with ring-tailed possums and the koala in a separate family, Phascolarctidae.
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Animal Group Names