FfFfFfFF 58,390 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Two new species of sugar gliders have been identified by scientists after a study revealed the beady-eyed, fiendishly cute creature is actually three genetically and physically distinct species. Reported in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, researchers at Charles Darwin University (CDU) looked for key genetic and morphological differences in over 300 live and preserved glider specimens from Australian collections. Just as previous research had hinted, the sugar glider is not just one species, but at least three distinct species: the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps), the savanna glider (Petaurus ariel), and Kreft’s glider (Petaurus notatus). Sugar gliders are palm-sized nocturnal gliding marsupials that can be found in Australia, New Guinea, and some Indonesian islands. The savanna glider lives in the woodland savannas of northern Australia and looks a bit like a squirrel glider with a more pointed nose, but much smaller. The remaining two species look similar to each other and may overlap in some areas of southeastern Australia. Krefft’s glider has a clearly defined dorsal stripe and fluffy tail. It is widespread in eastern Australia and has been introduced to Tasmania. The sugar glider, with a less-defined dorsal stripe, is apparently restricted to forests east of the Great Dividing Range, extending from southeast Queensland to around the border of New South Wales and Victoria. While pinpointing new species sounds like good news, it could have some worrying implications for the sugar glider. Dividing them into three separate species means the distribution of the sugar glider has been widely overestimated. It also means no one is quite sure how many individuals belong to each species. Source: https://www.newsbreak.com/news/0PdQ5WWn/new-species-of-sugar-glider-discovered-but-its-not-good-news-for-conservation, https://theconversation.com/a-rare-discovery-we-found-the-sugar-glider-is-actually-three-species-but-one-is-disappearing-fast-142807 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFRatwell 23,290 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I never comment on your threads but thank you for always giving us some interesting and usually positive stories to read on here Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter 14 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I thought they only eat sugar canes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregJA 5,556 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I missed the glider part when I saw the title and was so confused how sugar got it on and created a new species Mr. No Award Winner 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Married the Night 3,955 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I thought this said sugar daddies Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat Q 539 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I’ve gotten to hold and play with sugar gliders many many times in my life,, they are the sweetest little things Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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