Locomotor performance in the squirrel glider, Petaurus norfolcensis, and the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps.

Abstract

We evaluated gliding, climbing, and running performance by Petaurus norfolcensis in southern Queensland, Australia and by a laboratory colony of P. breviceps. The data were used to test the hypothesis that gliding locomotion is energetically less expensive than quadrupedal transport, and is thus a reasonable explanation for the evolution of gliding. Gliding locomotion is less expensive than quadrupedal transport only when P. norfolcensis is able to climb to a launch point rapidly. We found no conditions in which gliding was less expensive than quadrupedal transport for P. breviceps. We compare these results with published data on North American flying squirrels, and argue that gliding locomotion in mammals may be a solution to foraging optimisation problems such as decreasing travel time between patchy food resources and increasing foraging velocity.