Found:
The Eastern coast of Australia and inland Feathertail Gliders are
from the Burramyidae family and are related to the Pygmy Possum.
What facinates me most about these animals, is that because they
are so small they have trouble staying warm when it is cold or when
there is a shortage of food, so they enter a state known as Torpidity
. This means that for short periods, no longer than two weeks, their
breathing slows down and the animal is unresponsive , the body temprature
drops almost to that of its surroundings and this can last from
one day but no more than two weeks . This state is not to be mistaken
for hibernation which is for much longer periods and is not known
to occur in Marsupials.
Range:
Forests
and woodlands of Eastern Australia
Like most of Australia's native mammals, this is a marsupial, or
pouched animal, although it looks like mouse and acts like a flying
squirrel. It is at home in the trees, feeding on insects and nectar,
and launching itself into the air when it needs to get from one
tree to the next. Everything about the feathertail glider is designed
for soaring. A thin membrane of skin stretching from wrist to ankle,
fringed with long hair along the edge, increases the body surface.
When stretched out, the glider can float long distances, like a
falling leaf.
Feathertailed
gliders are able to launch themselves great distances. To become
airborne, they hurl themselves from trees with legs outstretched;
the flap of skin between front and back feet extends like a parachute.
The flattened tail helps this tiny possum to glide, steer, brake
and anchor itself on landing. The feathertail glider is widely distributed
on the mainland east coast, where it leaps and runs along tree branches
and fossicks for nectar, sap and insects.
They get their name from their remarkable tail which is flat with
stiff fringed hair growing horizontally either side all the way
to the tip. The tail is used to steer and brake as they glide up
to 20 meters through the trees. They are the only known Mammal to
have a feather like tail. Like all gliders they have a skin fold
known as the gliding membrane, in Feathertails this membrane extends
from the elbow to the knee.
The feet
resemble a frog except with fur and the large pads on the toes which
have serrated groves underneath which allow them to climb just about
anything. Feathertail Gliders eat a variety of insects including
Moths, Beetles and larvae as well as new tips of trees, nectar,
pollen, sap and blossoms. These gliders will build their nests in
just about anything from abandoned birds nests to Banana bags and
line the nest with leaves and shredded bark from trees.
They
have been known to live in communal groups of up to 16 and the breeding
cycle is all year round in the Northern parts and Spring, Summer
to late Winter in the South. The female has four teats but rarely
carries more than three babies at a time and can fall pregnant whilst
still carrying young in the pouch. They have a life expectancy of
4 years in the wild. Both sexes are similar in size and appearance
with the obvious difference being the pouch in the female.
