Lincoln Park Zoo

Common name: Sugar glider
Latin Name: Petaurus breviceps

Class: Mammals
Order:    Marsupialia

Description
Small marsupials (about the size of chipmunks), sugar gliders have tails about as long as their body. Fur is gray with black and white patches. Skin membranes extend from the hand to the hind foot, which enables the sugar glider to soar between tree branches.

Range
Native to Australia and neighboring islands

Status
Thriving

Habitat
Large groups (up to 30) live in trees. Stripped bark and bite marks in wood are signs that sugar gliders are present.

Niche
As nocturnal creatures, sugar gliders hunt insects and small vertebrates. They also eat sweet sap from trees, which gives them their name, along with their ability to soar between branches.

Life History
Young remain in their mother's pouch for 70 days, after which they remain in the nest. They are ejected from the group at around nine months, when they must find a new group.

2

Special Adaptations

  • The membranes which enable the sugar glider to soar are used to escape predators such as foxes and cats. Flying predators, such as owls, remain a threat to sugar gliders.
  • Sugar gliders can soar some 50 yards, steering by curving their membranes. They launch from tree limbs with powerful hind legs, which they tuck against their body while in flight.
  • Males mark their territory with saliva and scents produced by glands on the forehead and chest.