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The squirrel glider is a gliding possum, one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus Petaurus. The species' home range extends from Bordertown near the South Australian/Victorian Border through south-eastern Australia to northern Queensland. This species was thought to be extinct in South Australia since 1939 until a genetic test confirmed their presence in the area.
Like most of the wrist-winged gliders, the squirrel glider is endemic to Australia. It is about twice the size of the related sugar glider. Its body is 18–23 cm long and its tail measures at 22–33 cm long. They have blue-grey or brown-grey fur on their back and a white belly. The end of their tail is black and they have a black stripe from their eyes to the mid-back. They have a flying membrane that extends from their 5th front toe to the back of their foot on both sides.
Squirrel gliders are often mistaken for flying squirrels of North America. These two species aren’t related at all. The flying squirrel is a placental mammal and the squirrel glider is a marsupial like koalas and kangaroos.
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