- Feathertail Glider
Taxobox
name = Feathertail GliderMSW3 Groves|pages=56]
status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = IUCN2006|assessors=Australasian Marsupial & Monotreme Specialist Group|year=1996|id=40584|title=Acrobates pygmaeus|downloaded=12 May 2006]
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
infraclassis =Marsupialia
ordo =Diprotodontia
subordo =Phalangerida
familia =Acrobatidae
genus = "Acrobates"
genus_authority = Desmarest, 1818
species = "A. pygmaeus"
binomial = "Acrobates pygmaeus"
binomial_authority = (Shaw, 1793)The Feathertail Glider ("Acrobates pygmaeus"), also known as the Pygmy Gliding Possum, Pygmy Glider, Pygmy Phalanger and Flying Mouse, [cite web | title = The Feathertail Glider | url = http://www.australianstamp.com/Coin-web/feature/nature/feather.htm | accessdate = 2007-02-16] is the world's smallest
gliding mammal , and is named for its long feather-shaped tail. Although only the size of a very small mouse (65 to 80 mm and 10 to 14 g), it can leap and glide long distances from tree to tree, up to 25 metres. Like other gliding mammals, the Feathertail Glider has a skin membrane between the fore and hind legs; thicker than that of the other marsupials like theSugar Glider , but smaller in proportion, extending only between the elbows and knees.The most obvious feature of the Feathertail Glider, however, is the tail that gives it its name: it is about the same length as the combined head/body, quite thin, moderately prehensile, and almost hairless except for the two very obvious rows of long, stiff hairs on either side. The tail, when held straight, looks rather like a double-sided comb. It is used to grip twigs and small branches, and to control gliding flight: steering and then braking.
The coat is a uniform mid-grey, with dark patches around the eyes and often a white patch behind the ears. The underside is lighter; the ears are moderately large and rounded.
The natural habitat of the Feathertail Glider is the eastern seaboard of
Australia , and the glider's distribution is from North-Queensland to Victoria.The Feathertail Glider's diet includes nectar, pollen and arthropods.
Coins to medals
The Feathertail Glider was featured on the Australian 1 cent, until it was withdrawn from circulation in
1991 . The 1 cent coins, along with the 2 cent coins, were later melted down to makebronze medals for the2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.References
External links
* [http://www.wildlife.org.au/wildlife-gliders.php?page=w-gliders-feathertail.html Photos and information about the Feathertail Glider] —
Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland
* [http://www.wildlife.org.au/wildlife.php?page=w-gliders1.html Gliders in the Spotlight] — Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland
* [http://bird.net.au/bird/index.php?title=Feathertail_Glider Information about the Feathertail Glider] — BIRD website
* [http://lamington.nrsm.uq.edu.au/Documents/Anim/feathertailglider.htm Photos and information about the Feathertail Glider] — Mammals of Lamington National Park
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/acrobates/a._pygmaeus Photos and information about the Feathertail Glider] — University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
* [http://www.ballarat.edu.au/ard/sci-eng/hotspot/feathertailglider/gliderinfo.shtml Information about the Feathertail Glider]
* [http://www.rochedalss.eq.edu.au/rdale/ftglider.htm Photos and information about the Feathertail Glider]
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