Petauroides fossil map
Where fossils of Petauroides have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 5.333 million years ago to the present (Zanclean to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Pseudocheiridae |
| Named by | Thomas 1888 |
| Fossil records | 8 occurrences at 4 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Australia |
| Rock formations | txn:66304, Grange Burn |
About Petauroides
The greater gliders are three species of large gliding marsupials in the genus Petauroides, all of which are found in eastern Australia. Until 2020 they were considered to be one species, Petauroides volans. In 2020 morphological and genetic differences, obtained using diversity arrays technology, showed there were three species subsumed under this one name. The two new species were named Petauroides armillatus and Petauroides minor.
These species are not closely related to the Petaurus group of gliding marsupials but instead to the Lemuroid ringtail possum, Hemibelideus lemuroides, with which it shares the subfamily Hemibelideinae.
The greater gliders are nocturnal and are solitary herbivores feeding almost exclusively on Eucalyptus leaves and buds. Like their relative, the lemur-like ringtail, the southern greater glider is found in two forms: a sooty brown form and a grey-to-white form. The central greater glider is instead silvery brown, while the northern greater glider is brownish-gray.
The greater gliders are found in eucalypt forests from Mossman, Queensland, to Daylesford, Victoria.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Greater glider (revision 1373560502), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q10804830.
