Feathertail Gliders are the smallest gliding mammals on earth. Also called the Pygmy Glider or Flying Mouse, they are found only on the eastern seaboard of Australia.

They weigh around 12 grams and are the size of a small mouse.

Their most obvious feature is a unique, feather-like tail with stiff hairs that grow horizontally. It acts like a rudder in flight as they glide between tree branches, often 3-5 times an hour at night. They can glide up to 25 meters in the air.

A gliding membrane, which extends from their elbows to their knees, helps them to ‘fly’. They also have a brush tipped tongue to feed on nectar and large eyes for binocular vision at night. Serrated, moist feet that act like suction cups enable them to climb up even smooth tree surfaces.

They tend to nest in high tree hollows and spend almost all their time above ground, especially in Eucalypts.

They are also social animals, and up to five may share a single nest.

The Feathertail Glider featured on the reverse side of the former one cent coin.