Greater Glider

marsupials · gliding · Australia · nocturnal

Parachute skin flaps. Greater gliders have stretchy folds of skin called patagium that stretch between their front and back legs, turning them into living parachutes so they can glide from tree to tree at night.

Night shift animals. These marsupials are nocturnal, meaning they sleep all day hidden in tree hollows and come out to hunt and glide around after dark.

Three species hiding as one. Scientists thought greater gliders were all one species until 2020, when DNA testing revealed there were actually three different species living in eastern Australia: the original Petauroides volans and two newly named cousins.

Forest home dwellers. Greater gliders live in the eucalyptus forests and woodlands of eastern Australia, where they leap between trees searching for leaves, bark, and insects to eat.

Marsupial cousins. Like all marsupials, baby greater gliders are born tiny and finish growing inside their mother's pouch before facing the world.