In Australia and Pupua New Genea, there are eight species of gliding marsupials. These vary in size from as small as 10grams in Feathertail Gliders up to 1.7Kg in Greater Gliders¹. All species live in forests and primarily eat: insects; sap; gum; nectar; fruits; flowers and leaves^{1, 2}. Most species live in small to medium sized groups, usually sharing nesting sites, except for Greater Gliders which tend to maintain a more solitary existence^{1, 3}.

Table 1 - Key features of the eight species of Gliding Marsupials ^{1, 3, 4}.

Gliding marsupials make extensive use of scents to communicate with other members of the same species^{1, 5, 6}. For instance, in Sugar Gliders, males have three scent producing regions and females have two. These regions produce different odours that identify Sugar Gliders as been: part of a family; part of a group or community; and from another nest⁶. These scents are also a key to distinguishing Sugar Gliders from other species in the area⁵. In Yellow-bellied Gliders, scent marking is also used on trees to create territorial boundaries⁵. All gliding marsupials display scent marking and transmit their smells in different ways, including: urination; rubbing against scent glands; face washing; and chewing branches⁵.

While scent marking is a major form of communication in gliders, vocalisations and other sounds also play a significant role. Table 2 summarises some of the sounds made by different gliding species.

Table 2 - Vocalisations of Gliding Marsupials.
Question marks mean that the response is unknown ^{modified from 1}.

In the wild, gliders are threatened by land clearing (which removes their habitat and food plants) and habitat fragmentation (the breaking up of forests into separate sections that animals cannot move between)¹. These processes limit where gliders can live and their ability to maintain genetic diversity. Currently, most gliding marsupials are at a low risk of extinction, although some are endangered and may not endure¹. To ensure the long term survival of these gliders, their habitat must be maintained and expanded to connect fragmented populations together.

1.         Lindenmayer, D.B., Gliders of Australia: A Natural History. Australian Natural History Series, ed. T.J. Dawson. 2002, Sydney, New South Wales: UNSW Press.

2.         Grzimek, B. and U. Ganslosser, Ringtails and Gliders, in Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals: Volume 1, S.P. Parker and W. Keienburg, Editors. 1990, McGraw-Hill: Sydney.

3.         Flannery, T.F., Possums of the World: A monograph of the Phalangeriodea. 1994, Sydney, Australia: GEO Productions.

4.         Jackson, S., Australian mammals: biology and captive management. 2003, Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Pub. xvi, 524 p.

5.         Biggins, J.G., Communications in Possums: a review, in Possums and Gliders, A.P. Smith and I.D. Hume, Editors. 1984, Australian Mammal Society: Sydney. p. 35-57.

6.         Schultze-Westrum, T., Social Communication by chemical signals in flying phalangers, in Olfaction and Taste II, C. Pfaffmann, Editor. 1969, Rockefeller University Press: New York. p. 268-77.