Krefft's glider
Temporal range:
In Crater Lakes National Park, Queensland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Petauridae
Genus: Petaurus
Species:
P. notatus
Binomial name
Petaurus notatus
Peters, 1859
Synonyms

P. (Belideus) notatus,  Peters 1859[1]

Krefft's glider (Petaurus notatus) is a species of arboreal nocturnal gliding possum, a type of small marsupial. It is native to most of eastern mainland Australia and has been introduced to Tasmania.[2][3] Populations of Petaurus from New Guinea and Indonesia previously classified under P. breviceps are also tentatively classified under P. notatus by the American Society of Mammalogists, but likely represent a complex of distinct species.[4] As most captive gliders referred to as "sugar gliders" in at least the United States are thought to originate from West Papua, this likely makes them Krefft's gliders, at least tentatively.[5]

Taxonomy

It is closely allied with the sugar glider (P. breviceps), with which it was long taxonomically confused. A 2020 study partially clarified the taxonomy of the sugar glider and split it into three species: the savanna glider (P. ariel), the sugar glider (P. breviceps sensu stricto) and Krefft's glider (P. notatus). The large range throughout eastern Australia once attributed to the sugar glider is now known to actually be that of Krefft's glider; under the new taxonomy, the sugar glider only has a small, threatened range in the coastal forests of Queensland and New South Wales.[6]

The species was named after German-Australian zoologist and paleontologist Gerard Krefft.[6]

Names

It is known as aymows or kajben in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea, or yegang in the Asai Valley dialect of Kalam.[7]

Description

The species can be distinguished from P. breviceps by its more clearly defined mid-dorsal stripe and a more attenuated tail, with longer fur at the base which shortens towards the tip. P. notatus also has a white tip to its tail.[6]

Distribution

Krefft's gliders nest in eucalyptus tree hollow, John Gould, 1861

It is widely distributed throughout eastern Australia, and may be the most widespread of all Australian Petaurus species. It ranges from coastal northern Queensland (albeit not the Cape York Peninsula, which is thought to be occupied by an unknown Petaurus species that may represent P. gracilis or another species[4]) throughout most of inland Queensland and New South Wales south to Victoria and the southeastern corner of South Australia. In southern Queensland and most of New South Wales, the Great Dividing Range serves as a barrier from the coastal areas which are occupied by the sugar glider, although their ranges may overlap in some places. The species is also sympatric with the mahogany glider and yellow-bellied glider in parts of its range.[6] The earliest Krefft's glider (originally identified as sugar glider) fossils were found in a cave in Victoria and are dated to 15,000 years ago, at the time of the Pleistocene epoch.[8]

Populations of Petaurus in New Guinea likely represent a distinct species complex, but have been tentatively classified within P. notatus until they can be further studied.[4] These gliders are also found in the Bismarck Archipelago, Louisiade Archipelago, and certain isles of Indonesia, Halmahera Islands of the North Moluccas.[9]

Introduction to Tasmania

According to naturalist Ronald Campbell Gunn, no Petaurus species is indigenous to Tasmania. He concluded that Krefft's glider (then thought to have been sugar gliders) had been brought to Launceston, Tasmania as pets from Port Phillip, Australia (now Melbourne), soon after the founding of the port in 1834. Some Krefft's gliders had escaped and quickly became established in the area.[10][11] The facilitated introduction of the sugar glider to Tasmania in 1835[12] is supported by the absence of skeletal remains in subfossil bone deposits and the lack of an Aboriginal Tasmanian name for the animal.[13]

The species has been identified as a threat to the survival of the swift parrot, which breeds only in Tasmania. Reduction in mature forest cover has left swift parrot nests highly vulnerable to predation by Krefft's gliders, and it is estimated that the parrot could be extinct by 2031.[14]

Habitat

They have a broad habitat niche, inhabiting rainforests and coconut plantations in New Guinea; and rainforests, wet or dry sclerophyll forest and acacia scrub in Australia; preferring habitats with Eucalypt and Acacia species. The main structural habitat requirements are a large number of stems within the canopy, and dense mid and upper canopy cover, likely to enable efficient movement through the canopy.[15]

In captivity

Male and Female Sugar Gliders eating mealworms from a bowl
Mealworms are a favourite food for these pet gliders

It has been suggested that the expanding overseas trade in Petaurus was initiated from illegally sourced sugar gliders from Australia, which were bred for resale in Indonesia.[16][17] DNA analysis, however, indicates that "the USA (sugar) glider population originates from West Papua, Indonesia with no illegal harvesting from other native areas such as Papua New Guinea or Australia".[5] Given that the West Papuan gliders have been tentatively classified as P. notatus (albeit to be changed in the future),[4] this indicates that P. notatus is likely the identity of the captive gliders kept in the United States.

There have been media and internet articles which evidence a history of cruelty,[18][19] and reporting on why Krefft's gliders should not be kept as pets.[20][21] There are glider rescue organisations that cope with surrendered and abandoned Krefft's gliders[22][23]

Krefft's gliders are popular as pets in the United States, where they are bred in large numbers. Most states and cities allow Krefft's gliders as pets, but they are prohibited in California,[24] Hawaii,[25] Alaska, and New York City.[26] In 2014, Massachusetts changed its law, allowing Krefft's gliders to be kept as pets.[27] Some other states require permits or licensing.[28] Breeders of Krefft's gliders are regulated and licensed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) through the Animal Welfare Act.[29]

References

  1. ↑ Peters, Hr. (1859). "Bericht über ein neues Flugbeutelthier, Petaurus (Belideus), aus dem südlichen Theile von Neuholland". Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin. 1859: 14–15.
  2. ↑ Gunn, R.C. (1846). "In Minutes of the Tasmanian Society, July 2, 1845" (PDF). Tasmania Journal. 2 (11): 458–459.
  3. ↑ Gunn, R.C. (1851). "On the introduction and naturalization of Petaurus sciureus in Tasmania". Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of van Dieman's Land. 1: 253–255.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
  5. 1 2 Campbell, Catriona D.; Pecon-Slattery, Jill; Pollak, Rebecca; Joseph, Leo; Holleley, Clare E. (2019-01-08). "The origin of exotic pet sugar gliders ( Petaurus breviceps ) kept in the United States of America". PeerJ. 7: e6180. doi:10.7717/peerj.6180. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 6329365. PMID 30643698.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Cremona, Teigan; Baker, Andrew M; Cooper, Steven J B; Montague-Drake, Rebecca; Stobo-Wilson, Alyson M; Carthew, Susan M (2020-07-13). "Integrative taxonomic investigation of Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia: Petauridae) reveals three distinct species". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (2): 503–527. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa060. ISSN 0024-4082.
  7. ↑ Pawley, Andrew and Ralph Bulmer (2011). A Dictionary of Kalam with Ethnographic Notes. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
  8. ↑ Smith, Meredith J. (13 June 1973). "Petaurus breviceps". Mammalian Species (30): 1–5. doi:10.2307/3503785. JSTOR 3503785. S2CID 254011903.
  9. ↑ Dickman, Ronald M. Nowak; introduction by Christopher R. (2005). Walker's marsupials of the world. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 190. ISBN 0801882222.
  10. ↑ Gunn, R.C. (1846). "In Minutes of the Tasmanian Society, July 2, 1845" (PDF). Tasmania Journal. 2 (11): 458–459.
  11. ↑ Gunn, R.C. (1851). "On the introduction and naturalization of Petaurus sciureus in Tasmania". Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of van Dieman's Land. 1: 253–255.
  12. ↑ "Wildlife – Sugar Glider". Wildlife Queensland. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  13. ↑ "DPIW - Sugar Glider". 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012.
  14. ↑ "Tasmania's swift parrot in danger of extinction, calls to list the bird as critically endangered", ABC News, 2015-03-26
  15. ↑ Jackson, Stephen M. (2000). "Habitat relationships of the mahogany glider, Petaurus gracilis, and the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps". Wildlife Research. 27 (1): 39. doi:10.1071/WR98045.
  16. ↑ Committee., Australia. Parliament. Senate. Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References (1998). Commercial utilisation of Australian native wildlife : report of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee. Woodley, John, 1938-. Canberra: The Committee. pp. Chapter 17. ISBN 0642267812. OCLC 39840227.
  17. ↑ "Aussie wildlife in black markets for pets". www.couriermail.com.au. 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  18. ↑ "Sugar gliders at the mercy of Americans". www.news.com.au. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  19. ↑ "Here's Why You Should Never Buy Sugar Gliders as Pets". PETA. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  20. ↑ Wright, Julia (10 March 2018). "Weird, cute big-eyed sugar gliders: the new pet craze". CBC. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  21. ↑ Nosowitz, Dan (2013-11-23). "Sugar Gliders Are Not Pets". The Dodo. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  22. ↑ "Lucky Glider Rescue & Sanctuary | Clifton Animal Rescue". www.luckyglider.org. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  23. ↑ "Akron Sugar Glider Rescue". Akron Sugar Glider Rescue. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  24. ↑ "Illegal pets in California". Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  25. ↑ "Illegal pets in Hawaii". Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  26. ↑ New York City Health Code. nyc.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  27. ↑ MacCallum, Wayne F. , Director. "Notice of Changes in the Law Relative to Wildlife that May be Sold By Licensed Pet Shops or Kept as Pets in Massachusetts" (PDF). Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 10 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ "Summary of State Laws Relating to Private Possession of Exotic Animals". Born Free USA. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  29. ↑ "Sugarglider.com – Gliderpedia – Laws". www.sugarglider.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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