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The great glider is a marsupial the size of a skunk, endemic to the country (i.e. it is characteristic of Australia). Scientists have long suspected that its species, classified as Petauroides volans, was not one of them. Bingo: Researchers from three universities in the country have found that, instead of one, there are three protected species under the genus Petauroides.
“It has long been speculated that there could be more than one kind of large glider. Now, we have the DNA to prove this idea. This will completely change the way we study these animals, “said biologist Denise McGregor of James Cook University. (JCU).
The idea of investigating the genetic similarities and differences between specimens of large gliders was born when he analyzed the distance these animals have reached (they glide up to a hundred meters), as well as the variety of sizes and physiology among the specimens.
Genetic sequencing of specimens relied on the joint effort of the National Universities of Australia (ANU) and Canberra (UC) and more of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), and confirmed that Australia’s great gliders are indeed divided into not one, but three species.
“It’s not every day that new mammals are confirmed, let alone two at once,” JCU zoologist Andrew Krockenberger said in a statement.
Still at risk of extinction
The good news, however, does not diminish concern for the animals: large gliders are classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The situation is even more critical in the face of the ferocity with which seasonal fires have devastated Australian forests in recent years.
“As a result, there has been an increased focus on understanding genetic diversity and species structure to protect their ability to survive and adapt to climate change and its effects,” said ecologist Kara Youngentob, from ANU. .
According to her, “if previously it was only divided into two subspecies, the existence of three species of large gliders reduces its previous distribution throughout the country, further increasing the concern for the conservation of that animal and highlighting the lack of information on the other great glider species. We know a lot about one and little about two others “.
The researcher also points out that, at least in the last decade, Australia has experienced an alarming decline in populations of large gliders in their natural habitats, such as the eucalyptus forests of Mossman, Queensland, and those of Daylesford, Victoria.
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