Anatomy of a Sugar Glider

EYES:

• ·        Large protruding eyes (wide field of vision)

o   Excellent night vision (nocturnal)

o   Dark brown in colour

o   Only see in shades of grey and red (due to the number of rods and cones in their eyes)

o   Excrete a white-milky substance from their tear ducts which helps them with grooming

EARS:

• ·        Velvety and soft

o   Large (in comparison with entire head)

o   Each ear (pinna) can move independently akin to a ‘radar dish’ (identification of sound source)

• ·       Voice recognition (of owner after bonding period)

      

      FUR:

• ·       Short, dense, extremely soft

o   Regular self-grooming

o   Very clean

o   Standard colour is platinum grey with a black perpendicular stripe running down the length of his body

o   Cream coloured underside

HANDS:

• ·       4 fingers and 1 opposable thumb

o   Adept at grasping and holding onto things

o   Each finger has a sharp claw allowing it to cling onto things

o   2^nd and 3^rd fingers on its feet are partially fused together (Syndactylous) – acts like a comb when grooming themselves

o   Thumb on the feet (hallux) is large and padded used for gripping and holding onto branches

NOSE:

• ·        Highly developed sense of smell (find food, sense predators, recognize kin)

o   Joeys use it to smell and identify as well as bond with family members

MOUTH:

• ·       Two upper front teeth and two much longer lower incisors (diprodonts)

o   Use their teeth to scoop out fruit and pry open tree bark to access sap and insects

o   Teeth do not constantly grow

• ·        Long tongue for cleaning, grooming, licking juice, water and suck the liquid out of fruits and vegetables

TAIL:

• ·       Semi-prehensile tail (carry lightweight objects like twigs, leaves) but cannot hang from it

o   Approximately half their body length (6 inches when fully grown)

o   Primarily to steer and balance while gliding through the air (rudder)

“WINGS/FLAPS”:

• ·       Similar to a flying squirrel
• ·       Thin flap of furry skin stretching from their wrists to ankles called Patagium
• ·       Tiny webbing between their fingers
• ·       In flight, skin spreads to rectangular shape (kite)

o   When not gliding, it retracts up against their body and looks like a rippled dark line

• ·       Intelligent aviators, can triangulate distance and glide ratios (seen by bobbing their head side to side just before take-off)
• ·       Steer themselves to target by tilting their hands and arms, adjusting the tension in their flaps and using their tail as a rudder

MALE ANATOMY:

• ·       Large testicle sac (pom-pom) as they begin to mature

o   Attached to the body by a single ‘chord’ that does not contain nerve endings

• ·       Reach sexual maturity between 6-8 months of age
• ·       Develops 2 noticeable scent glands

o   Diamond shape bald spot on its forehead and a similar one on its chest

o   The bald spot is actually matte dried oil

• ·       Bifurcated (double headed) penis