| Southern greater glider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Light morph, nearCanberra | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Diprotodontia |
| Family: | Pseudocheiridae |
| Genus: | Petauroides |
| Species: | P. volans |
| Binomial name | |
| Petauroides volans (Kerr, 1792) | |
| Synonyms | |
Schoinobates volans | |
Thesouthern greater glider (Petauroides volans),[2] also known as thesouthern and central greater glider,[3] is a species of large glidingmarsupial native to the forests of southeastern Australia.[2] It is avulnerable species per theIUCN Red List classification, but since 5 July 2022 is listed asendangered under theEPBC Act in Australia.[3] The main threats to its survival areclimate change andlogging.[4]
This was the first described species ofPetauroides, and long thought to be the only species, withPetauroides armillatus andPetauroides minor being thought to comprise a distinct subspecies of it,P. volans minor; together, they were referred to as the greater glider. However, in 2012 and 2015, several field guides written by Colin Groves and/or Stephen Jackson listed the greater glider as being split into three species, confirmed by a 2020 analysis which found significant genetic and morphological differences between the three species.[5][6][7][8][9] TheAmerican Society of Mammalogists now considers the two subspecies to be distinct fromP. volans.[2]
The Australian Government'sSpecies Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT) refers to the animal as the greater glider (southern and central).[3]
Prior to being split, this species was thought to be found throughout eastern Australia, but recent taxonomic revisions and splits indicate it occupies a much smaller range. Although Jackson and Groves listed the species as ranging fromBundaberg (Queensland) south toVictoria,genetic analysis by McGregoret al. has found this species to not exist near the alleged northern edge of its range, with that species actually beingP. armillatus. It is now thought to range from Victoria north toNew South Wales, but due to insufficient sampling from New South Wales, the exact border between the range ofP. volans andP. armillatus remains unknown as of 2020.[5]
This is the largest species ofPetauroides and one of the world's largestgliding mammals, growing to the size of ahouse cat.[8] Its body spans 35–46 cm (14–18 in). Its furry tail reaches up to 60 cm (24 in) long,[4] but is notprehensile. The gliding membrane stretches from the forearm to thetibia.[10] Its ears are large and furry and it has a shortsnout.[10]
The glider weighs 900–1,700 g (32–60 oz). The females are larger than males. Its thick fur, which is white or cream underneath and "varies from dark grey, dusky brown through to light mottled grey and cream" above, makes it look bigger than it is.[10] This species displays the famouspolymorphism that greater gliders are well-known for, having a dark morph that is almost black in colour with a white underside, and a light morph that is grey and white with a white underside.[5][9]
Of the three greater glider species, this one is thought to be the most threatened and to have suffered the sharpest declines in population. Prior to late 2019, significantlogging in the forests of Victoria and New South Wales had already led to the removal of vast swathes of hollow-bearing trees that the species depended on, and caused the species to decline by almost 80% in some areas. This was worsened when a significant proportion of the species' habitat burned in the2019–20 Australian bushfire season; for example, over half of 96,000 acres (39,000 ha) of forest in Victoria set aside for glider protection are thought to have burned in the fires. Logging may have made these fires worse by allowing brushfires to burn hotter, and changing the composition of the landscape to less palatable food trees.[8][9]
Climate change may also threaten the species in some regions; rising night-time temperatures may cause the cold-adapted gliders to lose their appetite, leading to starvation.[8][9][11]
Conservation actions required to save the species include reconsidering the species'conservation status and banning logging and land clearance forcoal mining.Ecotourism to view the species may be a potential source of conservation income as well.[8]
Notably during 2022, in the wake of the bushfires theAustralian National University,Greening Australia, and theWorld Wide Fund for Nature-Australia teamed up to place more than 200 high-tech thermally appropriate nesting boxes atGlenboc, inVictoria'sEast Gippsland, and inside theTallaganda National Park nearBraidwood, NSW. The boxes utilise insulation, air gaps, and heat-reflective, fire-resistant non-toxic coatings, in order to keep the animals and at the optimal temperature, and best imitate atree hollow.[12]
The southern glider is avulnerable species per theIUCN Red List classification. On 5 July 2022 theAustralian Government declared the animal to be anendangered species under theEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,[3][10] as it becomes more threatened by logging and climate change. Logging is regulated by state governments; however, environment ministerTanya Plibersek said that the federal government was helping to fund ten projects whose goal is to help protect the species.[4]
It is listed as vulnerable under theNature Conservation Act 2014 (ACT); Nature Conservation (Animals) Regulation 2020 (Queensland) andNature Conservation Act 1992 (which includes both the southern and central and northern greater gliders); andFlora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic);[3] and three subpopulations are listed as endangered under theBiodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW).[10]
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