The sugar glider is an Australian marsupial, named for its attraction to sugar nectar and its adaptation to glide through the air. This ability comes from flaps of skin called patagia that connect the hands and feet on either side. When at rest, these are just extra membranous appendages, but when extended and spread, they create an aerofoil, which uses perpendicular aerodynamic motion to create lift, allowing sugar gliders to glide for long distances, changing the angle of the flap with their legs and tail to control height and direction. Because of this structure, sugar gliders rarely touch the ground, which keeps them far above many possible dangers and close to food sources.
Complete book of Australian mammals : the national photographic index of Australian wildlife (1. publ. ed.). [Sidney]: Angus & Robertson.
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