View source for Mahogany glider

{{Taxobox
| name = Mahogany glider<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=55}}</ref>
| status = EN
| trend = down
| status_system = iucn3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{IUCN2008|assessors=Burnett, S., Winter, J. & Martin, R.|year=2008|id=16727|title=Petaurus gracilis|downloaded=28 December 2008}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as endangered</ref>
| image = Mahogany glider.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| infraclassis = [[Marsupialia]]
| ordo = [[Diprotodontia]]
| familia = [[Petauridae]]
| genus = ''[[Petaurus]]''
| species = '''''P. gracilis'''''
| binomial = ''Petaurus gracilis''
| binomial_authority = ([[Charles Walter De Vis|de Vis]], 1883)
| range_map = Mahogany Glider area.png
| range_map_caption = Mahogany glider range
}}

The '''mahogany glider''' (''Petaurus gracilis'') is an endangered [[Petauridae|gliding possum]]
<ref name="threatened-recovery">http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/mahogany-glider/pubs/mahogany-glider.pdf Recovery of the Threatened Mahogany Glider] &mdash; Australian Government publication .pdf file</ref> native to a small region of coastal [[Queensland]].

==Appearance==
A [[nocturnal]]<ref name=Jackson2011/> arboreal [[marsupial]], the mahogany glider closely resembles the [[sugar glider]], the [[squirrel glider]] and the [[yellow-bellied glider]].,<ref name="arkive">[http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Petaurus_gracilis/more_info.html Mahogany Glider] - Arkive</ref> but is noticeably larger than any of its relatives (26.5&nbsp;cm long and 410g)<ref name="environment">[http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=26775 Mahogany Glider] &mdash; Department of Environment, Australian Government</ref> and long tail (34–40&nbsp;cm). The species gets its common name from its mahogany-brown belly and the similar colour of its [[patagium]], or gliding membrane. Unlike related gliders, it has a golden [[mendulla]] section{{clarify|date=September 2011}}, rather than grey. The tail is covered in short hair, and is black on the underside.<ref name="threatened-recovery" />

These gliders are sexually dimorphic, with the males being larger than the females, although the latter usually have a longer tail in proportion to their body.<ref name="threatened-recovery" /> In terms of their body length, females are marginally smaller, measuring {{convert|23|to|27|cm}} compared with the male body length of {{convert|23|to|28|cm}}, but they have a slightly longer tail, measuring {{convert|35|to|41|cm}} compared with {{convert|34|to|41|cm}} in males. However, despite their similar apparent size, the females, at {{convert|310|to|454|g}}, are much more lightly built than the males, which weigh between {{convert|345|and|500|g}}.<ref name=Jackson2011>{{cite journal | author = Jackson, S.M. | year = 2011 | title = ''Petaurus gracilis'' (Diprotodontia: Petauridae) | journal = Mammalian Species | volume = 43 | issue = 1 | pages = 141–148 | doi = 10.1644/882.1}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
The mahogany glider is restricted to a very small area, between Ollera Creek south of [[Ingham, Queensland|Ingham]] and [[Tully, Queensland|Tully]] in North [[Queensland]], [[Australia]].<ref name="Menkhorst">Menkhorst, P. and Knight, F. (2001). ''A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia''. Oxford University Press (pp. 94-95). ISBN 0-19-550870-X</ref> The habitat consists mainly of open forest with many different flowering plants that provide year round food.<ref name="threatened-recovery" />

==Reproduction==
The mahogany glider has a long breeding season with births starting April and ending in October.<ref name="CSIRO-WR98044">[http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/144/paper/WR98044.htm CSIRO paper WR98044]</ref> Litters consist of one or two young, and are usually born once a year, although a mother can give birth to a second litter if the first is lost before leaving the pouch. The young are [[weaning|weaned]] at four to five months, and reach sexual maturity at twelve to eighteen months.<ref name="environment" /><ref name="CSIRO-WR98044" /> They have been recorded to live to about five or six years of age.<ref name=Jackson2011/>

Each pair of adults shares some of their dens with offspring from the previous breeding season. These dens are marked and defended from other mahogany gliders. The pairs are usually monogamous, although extra-pair matings have been observed.<ref name="threatened-recovery" />

==Behaviour and diet==
The mahogany glider eats [[Eucalyptus|Eucalypt]] sap and gum, [[acacia]] sap and seeds, [[Xanthorrhoea|grass tree]] sap, [[pollen]], [[nectar]], [[insects]],<ref name="Menkhorst"/><ref name="jones-parish">Jones, C. and Parish, S. (2006). ''Field Guide to Australian Mammals''. Steve Parish Publishing Pty. Ltd (pp. 86, 89). ISBN 1-74021-743-8</ref><ref>[http://www.wildlife.org.au/wildlife-gliders.php?page=w-gliders-mahogany.html Mahogany Glider - Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland]</ref><ref>[http://www.animalinfo.org/species/petagrac.htm Mahogany Glider - Animal info]</ref> mistletoe, honeydew, wattle exudates,and at least twenty different tree and shrub species.<ref name="threatened-recovery" /><ref name="environment" /><ref>[http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=8B540BDDCE573ED7E3BBC756899AAD7A.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=63573 Cambridge publication]</ref>

It is [[nocturnal]], with adults living together in [[monogamy|monogamous]] pairs. In ideal conditions, the combined home range of a pair of animals averages around {{convert|23|ha}}, although this may be smaller in areas of fragmented habitat. Animals travel a considerable distance each night, with {{convert|1.5|km}} being typical; they are generally more mobile in the wet season than in the height of the dry season. During the day, mahogany gliders den in high trees, with [[Eucalyptus platyphylla|poplar gum]]s and [[Eucalyptus tereticornis|forest red gum]]s being especially favoured. Although they are socially monogamous, they do not usually share dens, with each individual having from three to nine dens within its home range.<ref name=Jackson2011/>

In January the time spent outside of the den for travelling and feeding is around 40%, while in September the amount was 77%. This activity was spent mostly at night ranging in a continuous period of 8–10 hours outside.<ref>[http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118924811/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Interscience]</ref>

Mahogany gliders have been reported to make deep, nasal grunting sounds when travelling at night, and a similar, but much louder and more rapid, alarm call, which has been described as "reminiscent of a lawnmower".<ref name=Jackson2011/> Predators include [[scrub python]], owls, and, in some instances, feral cats.<ref name=Jackson2011/>

==Conservation==
Mahogany gliders are considered a threatened species due to loss of habitat, with over 80% having been cleared for growing [[Sugarcane|sugar cane]], [[pine trees]], and [[banana]]s, or for rearing [[cattle]].<ref name=iucn/>  The mahogany glider's existence has been further endangered by the devastation to the region by [[Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi|Cyclone Yasi]] on 3 February 2011.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

The mahogany glider was lost to science for over a hundred years, from its first description in 1883, until it was rediscovered in 1989.<ref name="jones-parish"/> In 2000, [[Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service]] enacted a recovery programme for the mahogany glider.<ref>*[http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/recovery/mahogany-glider/index.html Mahogany Glider Recovery Plan] &mdash; Department of Environment and Heritage - Australian Government</ref>  The [[Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland]] also has a recovery programme for the preservation of gliders, including the mahogany glider.<ref>[http://www.wildlife.org.au/wildlife.php?page=w-gliders1.html Gliders in the Spotlight] &mdash; Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* The ''Australian Faunal Directory''
* [[Steve Van Dyck|Van Dyck, S.]] (1993). The taxonomy and distribution of ''Petaurus gracilis'' (Marsupialia: Petauridae), with notes on its ecology and distribution status, ''Mem. Queensland Museum'' '''33:''' 77-122
* [[Steve Van Dyck|Van Dyck, S.]] (1995). Mahogany Glider ''Petaurus gracilis''. pp.&nbsp;232–233 ''in'' Strahan, R. (ed.) ''The Mammals of Australia''.  The [[National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife]].  Sydney: Reed New Holland 2nd Edition 756 pp.
* Jackson, S.J. (2000). Home range and den use of the Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis). ''Wildlife Research'' '''27:''' 49-60.
*[[Clem Tisdell|Tisdell, C.]], Wilson, C. and Swarna Nantha, H. (2005). Policies for saving a rare Australian glider: economics and ecology. ''Biological Conservation'' '''123(2):''' 237-248.
* Cronin, Leonard &mdash; "''Key Guide to Australian Mammals''", published by Reed Books Pty. Ltd., Sydney, 1991 ISBN 0-7301-0355-2
* van der Beld, John &mdash; "''Nature of Australia &mdash; A portrait of the island continent''", co-published by William Collins Pty. Ltd. and ABC Enterprises for the Australian Boadcasting Corporation, Sydney, 1988 (revised edition 1992), ISBN 0-7333-0241-6
* Russell, Rupert &mdash; "''Spotlight on Possums''", published by University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Queensland, 1980, ISBN 0-7022-1478-7
* Troughton, Ellis &mdash; "''Furred Animals of Australia''", published by Angus and Robertson (Publishers) Pty. Ltd, Sydney, in 1941 (revised edition 1973), ISBN 0-207-12256-3
* Morcombe, Michael & Irene &mdash; "''Mammals of Australia''", published by Australian Universities Press Pty. Ltd, Sydney, 1974, ISBN 0-7249-0017-9
* Ride, W. D. L. &mdash; "''A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia''", published by Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1970, ISBN 19 550252 3
* Serventy, Vincent &mdash; "''Wildlife of Australia''", published by Thomas Nelson (Australia) Ltd., Melbourne, 1968 (revised edition 1977), ISBN 0-17-005168-4
* Serventy, Vincent (editor) &mdash; "''Australia's Wildlife Heritage''", published by Paul Hamlyn Pty. Ltd., Sydney, 1975

{{Diprotodontia|P.1}}

[[Category:Gliding possums]]