the Riesengleitbeutler is the biggest gleitfliegende marsupial and only distant with the Gleitbeutlern or bag-flight-croissants relative. it belongs into the family of the Gleitbeutler.
Shape its head-torso-length amounts to 30-48 cm. The fur is long, dense and fleecy. The coloring extends oberseits of black to white over smoke-gray, brown and reddish sounds. On the underside, it is colored dirty-gray until white. Big, round ears, that carry dense fur outside, indicate good hearing. With 45-55 cm of length, the tail is longer than the body. it is densely hairy; only the underside of the top is bare.
Glide Between the elbow and the ankles, the Riesengleitbeutler can put up a hairy glide-skin, that is placed narrowly against the body with the mountaineering or in silence. The forearms are free. To the glide, they extend poor and legs far, bend the forearms, however, and hold the hands near the head. A trapeze-shaped body-outline emerges through it while it is rather rectangular with the Gleithörnchenbeutlern of the type Petaurus.
Way of life Riesengleitbeutler are pure tree-inhabitants. With its very powerfully bekrallten fingers and toes is it well adjusted at the life in the branches. During the day, they sleep in tree-caves, that they sometimes pad with bark or leaves. Only in the darkness, they go on food-search. Like like koalas lives it mainly from leaves and buds of different eucalyptus-types.
Since the Riesengleitbeutler attract attention little because of its nightly way of life, they remain unchecked from the human being. Also foxes, dogs and cats cannot endanger it since they only rarely descend on the ground. The big owls are its single real enemies. They are threatened by danger above all through bush-fires and other, above all civilization-conditional destructions of its habitat.
Reproduction Usually, Riesengleitbeutler have only a young. After 6 weeks, it comes off from the teat and sucks independently. 4 months old, it leaves the bag and one can around-carry on the mother's back.
Occurrences Riesengleitbeutler live in alone or in pairs the light mountain-forests of the East-Australian coast-area. they are there widespread still today. Over its way of life is little known.
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