Petauridae Bonaparte, 1838

Petauridae Bonaparte, 1838 View in CoL

Petaurus sp. cf. breviceps Waterhouse, 1838 . Sugar gliders were confirmed by Josias as being present in coconut plantations and elsewhere. None were seen by members of the 2019 expedition.As currently constituted, it is one of the most widespread of marsupials, occurring from southeastern Australia to New Guinea, New Ireland, Halmahera and many smaller islands. However, Petaurus breviceps is almost certainly a species complex in the New Guinea region ( Helgen, 2007), as has recently been demonstrated for the Australian portion of its formerly recognized range, which is now classified in 3 distinct species, P. breviceps , P. notatus, and P. ariel . Previously, sugar gliders have been recorded on Salawati and Misool in the Raja Ampats. Petaurus may have been introduced by humans to some Melanesian and particularly to Moluccan islands ( Flannery, 1995).