iPetauridae
Petaurus breviceps
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Diprotodontia Superfamily: Petauroidea Family: Petauridae C.L. Bonaparte, 1838
Genera
Dactylopsila Gymnobelideus Petaurus Image File history File links Sugies03_hp. ... Binomial name Petaurus breviceps Waterhouse, 1839 The Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) is a small gliding possum native to eastern and northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and introduced to Tasmania. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Orders Superorder Ameridelphia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Superorder Australidelphia Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Marsupials are mammals in which the female typically has a pouch (called the marsupium, from which the name Marsupial derives) in which it rears its young through early infancy. ... Suborders Vombatiformes Phalangeriformes Macropodiformes Diprotodontia is a large taxon of about 120 marsupial mammals including the kangaroos, wallabies, possums, Koala, wombats, and many others. ... Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte (May 24, 1803 – July 29, 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithologist. ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ... Binomial name Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, 1867 Leadbeaters Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth Mountain Ash forests in the cool, misty highlands of Victoria, Australia. ... Type Species Petaurus australis Shaw, 1791 Species Petaurus breviceps Petaurus australis Petaurus gracilis Petaurus abidi Petaurus biancensis Petaurus norfolcensis The genus Petaurus contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal marsupials which includes the Sugar Glider. ...

The family Petauridae includes 11 medium-sized possum species: four striped possums, the six species wrist-winged gliders in genus Petaurus, and Leadbeater's Possum which has only vestigal gliding membranes. Most of the wrist-winged gliders are native to Australia, most of the striped possums (genus Dactylopsila) to New Guinea, but some members of each are found on both sides of Torres Strait. In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... Superfamilies and Families Phalangeroidea Burramyidae Phalangeridae Petauroidea Pseudocheiridae Petauridae Tarsipedidae Acrobatidae A possum is any of about 63 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea and Sulawesi. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Species See text. ... Binomial name Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, 1867 Leadbeaters Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth Mountain Ash forests in the cool, misty highlands of Victoria, Australia. ... The Torres Strait - Cape York Peninsula is at the top; several of the Torres Strait Islands can be seen strung out towards Papua New Guinea (North is downwards in this image) The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. ...

All petaurids have obvious facial markings, a well-defined dorsal stripe, very large lower front incisors, and four-cusped molars. Despite their distinctive appearance, petaurids are closely related to the ringtailed possums (family Pseudocheiridae) and are grouped together with them to form the superfamily Petauroidea. A possum is any of about 25 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupials native to Australia. ...

The wrist-winged gliders are omnivorous, specialising on sap and nectar, but taking a wide variety of supplemental foods. The gliders appears to have evolved in the open forests of Australia—gliding membranes are an adaptation which aids mobility when the forest canopy is incomplete, and are of little use in rainforests— but now has representatives in New Guinea and many of the smaller islands nearby. Their similarities to the unrelated flying squirrels are an example of convergent evolution. Arid, largely treeless areas aside, most Australian bushland is sclerophyll forest. ... Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750 mm and 2000 mm. ... Two groups of rodents are referred to as flying squirrels. ... It has been suggested that Morphological convergence be merged into this article or section. ...

The striped possums (trioks), on the other hand, are thought to have evolved on New Guinea, and the sole Australian species (the Striped Possum of Cape York) is considered a recent immigrant. All members of this genus are insectivores, and have specalised structures for catching insects: a heel-like structure on the wrist that is thought to be used to tap on wood to locate insect larvae. and an elongated fourth finger to extract them from their burrows. Binomial name Dactylopsila trivirgata Gray, 1858 The Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) is a member of the Petauridae family, one of the marsupial families. ... Categories: Australia geography stubs | Peninsulas | Headlands ...

Classification

• Genus Dactylopsila
  • Great-tailed Triok, Dactylopsila megalura
  • Long-fingered Triok, Dactylopsila palpator
  • Tate's Triok, Dactylopsila tatei
  • Striped Possum, Dactylopsila trivirgata
• Genus Gymnobelideus
  • Leadbeater's Possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri
• Genus Petaurus
  • Northern Glider, Petaurus abidi
  • Yellow-bellied Glider, Petaurus australis
  • Biak Glider, Petaurus biacensis
  • Sugar Glider, Petaurus breviceps
  • Mahogany Glider, Petaurus gracilis
  • Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis

Binomial name Dactylopsila trivirgata Gray, 1858 The Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) is a member of the Petauridae family, one of the marsupial families. ... Binomial name Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, 1867 Leadbeaters Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth Mountain Ash forests in the cool, misty highlands of Victoria, Australia. ... Binomial name Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, 1867 Leadbeaters Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth Mountain Ash forests in the cool, misty highlands of Victoria, Australia. ... Type Species Petaurus australis Shaw, 1791 Species Petaurus breviceps Petaurus australis Petaurus gracilis Petaurus abidi Petaurus biancensis Petaurus norfolcensis The genus Petaurus contains flying phalangers or wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal marsupials which includes the Sugar Glider. ... Binomial name Petaurus breviceps Waterhouse, 1839 Sugar Glider natural range: Red: Blue: Darkgreen: Yellow: Violet: Lightgreen: Black: The Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps), sometimes called the Flying Sugar, is a small gliding possum native to eastern and northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and introduced to Tasmania. ... Binomial name Petaurus gracilis (de Vis, 1883) The Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis), which is named for its mahogany-brown colour, is a highly endangered possum, very similar in appearance to both the smaller sized Sugar Glider and Squirrel Glider. ... Binomial name Petaurus norfolcensis (Kerr, 1792) The Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) is a gliding possum of the Marsupial family Petauridae. ...

References

• Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds) Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 53-55. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.