Sugar Glider: New Species Discovered, But With Conservation Implications

A recent study by Charles Darwin University in collaboration with the Australian Museum and the Queensland University of Technology discovered that the sugar glider that was believed to be a single species are three genetically and morphologically distinct species.

According to Dr. Teigan Cremona, the savanna glider is distributed in northern Australia's woodland savannas. It looks like a squirrel glider, another type of glider, but is smaller, and the nose is more pointed. Meanwhile, the sugar glider and the Krefft's glider look more alike, and they inhabit the areas of south-eastern Australia. Both species have enough genetic distinction that makes them two separate species. The discovery of three new mammal species may seem exciting, but unfortunately, this implies that there had been an overestimation on the distribution of the sugar glider. Separating them into three distinct species means that no one is quite sure about the number of individuals per species. Thus, the sugar glider's population may be in danger than what was previously thought. According to Cremona, classifying the sugar gliders as singular species tended to consider the species as widespread and abundant and thus are classified as Least Concern.