Blog
Save
Email
Print
ShareThe 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.
Although its aerial adaptation looks rather clumsy in comparison to the highly specialised limbs of birds and bats, the Sugar Glider can glide for a surprisingly long distance - flights have been measured at over 50 metres (55 yd) - and steer effectively by curving one or other of the patagium.
It uses its hind legs to thrust powerfully away from a tree, and when about 3 metres (3 yd) from the destination tree trunk, brings its hind legs up close to the body and swoops upwards to make contact with all four limbs together.
The Sugar Glider is a popular pet because of its sweet, lively, inquisitive nature.
In the USA, keeping them as a pet is illegal in certain jurisdictions.
For more information about the topic Sugar Glider, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Marsupial — Marsupials are mammals in which the female typically has a pouch in which it rears its young through early infancy. They differ from placental ... > read more
American Mink — The American Mink, Mustela vison, is a North American member of the Mustelidae family found in Alaska, Canada and most of the United States. They are ... > read more
Lar Gibbon — The Lar Gibbon (Hylobates lar), also known as the White-handed Gibbon, is a primate in the Hylobatidae or gibbon family. It is one of the more ... > read more
African Wild Dog — The African Hunting Dog, also called African Wild Dog, is a mammal of the Canidae family, and thus related to the domestic dog. It is the only ... > read more
Canada Lynx — The Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx. Some authorities regard both as conspecific. However, in some ... > read more
Mountain Zebra — Mountain Zebra consist of two species, namely the Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) and the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra (Equus hartmannae). Previously ... > read more
Japanese Crane — The Red-crowned Crane is a large crane and is the second rarest crane in the world. In SE Asia, it is known as a symbol of luck and fidelity. The ... > read more
Short-tailed Albatross — The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific ... > read more
Wood Bison — The Wood Bison is a distinct northern subspecies of the North American Bison. Reduced by hunting from a total population of about 168,000 to less ... > read moreRecommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
more 