Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00195:reg:3:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00195
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 1/11)
Character Range: 16623–19481

3               Background

3.1                 Taxonomy and description
The Mahogany Glider was initially described as Belideus gracilis by De Vis (1883a, 1883b) from a specimen collected "North of Cardwell", north Queensland, Australia. The taxonomy of this species was unstable soon after the scientific name was published because it is unknown if a single type specimen was formally nominated by De Vis (1883a; 1883b). As a result, it was thought to be the same species as the Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) as early as 1888 (Thomas, 1888). Subsequent authors typically considered it as either a subspecies of the Squirrel Glider, or a junior synonym of it, and no further specimens were recorded between 1886 and its rediscovery in 1989. As a result of biochemical studies by Colgan and Flannery (1992), and his own detailed morphological assessment, Van Dyck (1991; 1993) elevated the Mahogany Glider to species rank, which has been adopted by subsequent authors. Though studies have subsequently highlighted the genetic similarity of the Mahogany Glider to the Squirrel Glider (Malekian et al., 2010), they are clearly distinct from each other morphologically and is broadly recognised as a valid species (Jackson & Thorington, 2012; Burbidge et al., 2014; Jackson, 2015; Jackson & Groves, 2015).
The Mahogany Glider is a medium sized arboreal marsupial that can be readily distinguished from the Squirrel Glider in having a much heavier body mass, with an average body mass of 365 g for females and 407 g for males, compared to only 230 g for the latter species. The external morphology is also distinctive as the Mahogany Glider is approximately 625 mm in length compared to the Squirrel Glider that is 480 mm in length (Jackson, 2008; 2013; van der Ree & Suckling, 2008). The shape of the tail is also distinctive, as the Mahogany Glider has a relatively long thin tail while the Squirrel Glider has longer fur at the base of the tail. Cranially the Mahogany Glider has a larger zygomatic width, snout height and basicranial length and narrower interorbital width than the Squirrel Glider (Van Dyck, 1993).

3.2                 Biology and ecology relevant to recovery

3.2.1             Longevity
The life expectancy of a Mahogany Glider in the wild is estimated to be approximately 5 to 6 years of age (Jackson, 2000a; 2008).

3.2.2             Diet
The diet of the Mahogany Glider is similar to that of other petaurid gliders and includes primarily nectar, pollen, tree sap, lerps, honeydew and invertebrates. However, the proportion of dietary items differs considerably between species (Jackson, 2001; Goldingay & Jackson, 2004).
The primary genera of trees utilised to obtain nectar and pollen include Corymbia, Eucalyptus and Melaleuca of the family Myrtaceae (Van Dyck, 1993; Jackson, 2001). The only rainforest species known to be