page_title: Greater glider
section_title: Anatomy and physiology
hierarchical_section_title: Greater glider / Anatomy and physiology
caption_attribution_description: Petauroides volans skeleton
context_page_description: The greater glider is a large gliding marsupial found in Australia. It is not closely related to the Petaurus group of gliding marsupials but instead to the lemur-like ringtail possum, with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae.
  The greater glider is nocturnal and is a solitary herbivore feeding almost exclusively on Eucalyptus leaves and buds. Like its relative the lemur-like ringtail, the greater glider is found in two forms: a sooty brown form, or a grey-to-white form.
  The greater glider is found in eucalypt forest from Mossman, Queensland, to Daylesford, Victoria.
context_section_description: Greater gliders have a head and body 39 to 43 centimetres (15 to 17 in) long, with the females generally being larger than the males. Their body is covered with a shaggy coat of fur that increases their apparent size, and the tail is long and bushy, ranging from 44 to 53 centimetres (17 to 21 in). The head is short with a pointed muzzle and their large ears are fringed and backed with long fur. Each side of the body bears membranes stretching between the elbow and the ankle that give the animal the ability to perform controlled glides. This is in contrast to other gliding marsupials (such as the sugar glider) that have gliding membranes stretching from the wrists to the ankles.
  The feet have strongly recurved claws to grip onto bark or other surfaces. There are five toes on each foot; the first toe on the hind foot and the first two toes on the fore foot are opposable.
  The fur is soft and up to 60 millimetres (2.4 in) long; its colour is variable within a single population and ranges from white to brown and charcoal. Body mass varies clinally from 1,600 grams (3.5 lb) in southern Victoria to 600 grams (1.3 lb) in north Queensland.
caption: Skeleton
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