Ends up, These Adorable Australian Greater Gliders That Can Glide Up To 100 Meters Are Actually 3 Different Species
It might be hard to believe, but the year 2020 has brought some great things too. Let’s take this adorable creature that you can see in the photos below as an example.
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Recently, while analyzing the genetic makeup of the greater glider, an incredibly adorable nocturnal animal native to Australia. Australian scientists discovered that this creature is actually three different species. Apparently, the animal was not recognized as separate species for 228 years. The greater glider is a possum-sized marsupial that can glide up to 100 meters.
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For years, scientists have been noticing that some greater gliders look quite different from one another. "There has been speculation for a while that there was more than one species of greater glider, but now we have proof from the DNA. It changes the whole way we think about them," said James Cook University's PhD student Denise McGregor, according to Australian National University. The creature was being recognized as a single species for 228 years, until now.
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After analyzing the mammal's DNA, Australian researchers came to the conclusion that there are actually three different species we're dealing with. You can see all three of the in the picture above. After running tests, researchers found evidence of three operational taxonomic units representing northern (top left), central (bottom left) and southern groups (right). New study identifies, that the animal is actually 3 different species.
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"This year Australia encountered a bushfire period of uncommon seriousness, bringing about far and wide living space misfortune and mortality. Subsequently, there's been an expanded spotlight on understanding hereditary variety and structure of species to ensure strength notwithstanding environmental change," said Dr. Kara Youngentob, a co-creator from Australian National University. "Australia's biodiversity just got significantly more extravagant". "The division of the more prominent lightweight flyer into numerous species lessens the past inescapable dispersion of the first species, further expanding preservation worry for that creature and featuring the absence of data about the other more noteworthy lightweight flyer species," Dr. Kara Youngentob added, as announced by the Australian National University.
