Message:
Subject: Re: Stripes, noses, tails, and head shapes.
Posted by Richard on January 29, 1999 at 17:37:55:
In Reply to: Stripes, noses, tails, and head shapes. posted by Bourbon on January 29, 1999 at 10:30:25:
Within the species Petaurus breviceps (Sugar Gliders) there are 7 recognised subspecies each occupying a very specific area of land like a territory. These territories do not overlap in the wild which would assist in your theory that like-featured gliders integrate with one another better than two very different looking gliders. The recognised subspecies are: Petaurus breviceps longicaudus, Petaurus breviceps ariel, Petaurus breviceps flavidus, Petaurus breviceps tafa, Petaurus breviceps papuanus, Petaurus breviceps biacensis, Petaurus breviceps breviceps.
I have Petaurus breviceps breviceps as do most of you I would think. They have a flatter, rounder face and make up most of our domestic population (of course the lines have been blurred with captive breeding).
If you can polish up on your latin you could figure out what all the subspecies' names mean. It's usually the feature that differentiates them from the rest of the subspecies within their species. Happy gliding, Richard.