Appearance and Behaviour
The yellow-bellied glider is a marsupial about the size of a rabbit. It typically has grey-brown fur on its back and has an off-white to orange or yellow belly. It has large pointed ears and a long tail that can grow to reach 48 cm in length. Its body length is smaller reaching to about 30 cm long and the marsupial weighs a total of 700 g. The males are usually bigger than the females.
There are two subspecies:
- P. a. australis in the south (which is locally common)
- P. a. reginae in northern Queensland (which is rare and threatened with logging)
The yellow-bellied glider is the largest species of Petaurus, the wrist-winged gliders, a group of arboreal marsupials, and can glide up to 150 m. The yellow-bellied glider has been observed to jump up to 100 m or 114 m.
It is similar in appearance to the mahogany glider, although slightly larger in size. It is also similar in appearance to the greater glider, a species that is more closely related to the lemur-like ringtail possum than to the other members of the Petaurus genus.
The yellow-bellied glider is gregarious and spends the day in a leaf-lined tree hole, which is usually shared with other members of the same species. It is also one of the most vocal possum gliders. It has a distinctive growling call that it uses as means of communication. It has been recorded to have been heard up to 500m away.
A recording of the distinctive call can be heard at
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