identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
386587D4E036FFA29BFFFA67FBBFF86F.text	386587D4E036FFA29BFFFA67FBBFF86F.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Acrobates Desmarest 1818	<html xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
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            <p> Acrobates Desmarest, 1818</p>
            <p> Ascobates Anon. in Knight, C. (1839) Penny Encyclopaedia. London. Vol. 14, No. 907, p. 454. [error for  Acrobates ]. </p>
            <p> Cercoptenus Gloger, C. W. L. (1841) . Gemeinnütziges Hand- und Hilfsbuch der Naturgeschichte. Fur gebildete leser aller Stände. Bd I. Breslau: Schulz and Co. </p>
            <p> Type species.  Didelphis pygmaeus Shaw, 1794 by original monotypy. </p>
            <p> Generic diagnosis. Differing externally from  Distoechurus , the only other genus of acrobatid possums, in the possession of a patagial membrane between the elbow and ankle joints. Beck et al. (2022) list the following cranial and dental features as diagnosing  Acrobates from  Distoechurus : differing cranially in having a proportionally larger and more inflated neurocranium, a proportionally shorter and deeper rostrum, a vertically expanded sphenorbital fissure; a deep sulcus that houses the transverse canal vein extends laterally from the carotid canal and is floored ventrally by a strut of the alisphenoid vs by the posterior part of the pterygoid in  Distoechurus , a narrower mandibular angular process; differing dentally in having P 3 relatively large and subequal in size to P 1 (reduced in  Distoechurus ), M 1-2 square rather than triangular, with the protocone positioned lingual to the paracone, and with more prominent buccal cingula, M 3 relatively large, more than one half the occlusal area of M 2 (Fig. 6). </p>
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	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/386587D4E036FFA29BFFFA67FBBFF86F	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	P. Aplin, Kenneth;N. Armstrong, Kyle;M. Aplin, Lucy;Jenkins, Paula;Ingleby, Sandra;Donnellan, Stephen C.	P. Aplin, Kenneth, N. Armstrong, Kyle, M. Aplin, Lucy, Jenkins, Paula, Ingleby, Sandra, Donnellan, Stephen C. (2025): Hidden diversity in an ecologically specialized genus of Australian marsupials, the feather-tailed gliders, Acrobates (Diprotodontia, Acrobatidae). Zootaxa 5566 (3): 535-564, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5
386587D4E036FFA29BFFFCA7FBDCFAF7.text	386587D4E036FFA29BFFFCA7FBDCFAF7.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Acrobatidae (Strahan 1987)	<html xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
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            <p> Family  ACROBATIDAE (Strahan, 1987)</p>
            <p>Diagnosis. The diagnosis provided by Aplin, in Aplin and Archer (1987) remains fully applicable.</p>
            <p> Remarks. The authorship of Family  Acrobatidae has been attributed erroneously in recent works as Aplin &amp; Archer (1987) or Aplin, in Aplin &amp; Archer (1987), e.g., Flannery (1994); Jackson &amp; Thorington (2012). Family  Acrobatidae was proposed by Aplin (in Aplin &amp; Archer 1987) but the publication of this work post-dates Strahan’s (1987) usage of the name which was published earlier in that year. Strahan unambiguously proposed Family  Acrobatidae as new, accompanied by a diagnosis: “The family is distinguished from the other phalangeroids by the feather-like tail”. Although a type genus was not explicitly stated, this did not become a formal requirement under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature until after 1999. Aplin (in Aplin &amp; Archer 1987) provided a more detailed diagnosis and a discussion of the possible phylogenetic affinities of the group. Beck et al. (2022: 241) provided a more detailed diagnosis based on craniodental apomorphies. Phylogenetic analyses of mitogenomes and genome scale nuclear gene datasets support a sister relationship of acrobatids with a clade comprising,  Petauridae ,  Pseudocheiridae and  Tarsipedidae (Mitchell et al. 2014; Duchene et al. 2018). </p>
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	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/386587D4E036FFA29BFFFCA7FBDCFAF7	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	P. Aplin, Kenneth;N. Armstrong, Kyle;M. Aplin, Lucy;Jenkins, Paula;Ingleby, Sandra;Donnellan, Stephen C.	P. Aplin, Kenneth, N. Armstrong, Kyle, M. Aplin, Lucy, Jenkins, Paula, Ingleby, Sandra, Donnellan, Stephen C. (2025): Hidden diversity in an ecologically specialized genus of Australian marsupials, the feather-tailed gliders, Acrobates (Diprotodontia, Acrobatidae). Zootaxa 5566 (3): 535-564, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5
386587D4E037FFA39BFFFA2AFC5DF9C8.text	386587D4E037FFA39BFFFA2AFC5DF9C8.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Acrobates pygmaeus (Shaw 1794)	<html xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
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            <p> Acrobates pygmaeus (Shaw, 1794)</p>
            <p>Recommended common name. Narrow‐toed feather‐tailed glider</p>
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	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/386587D4E037FFA39BFFFA2AFC5DF9C8	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	P. Aplin, Kenneth;N. Armstrong, Kyle;M. Aplin, Lucy;Jenkins, Paula;Ingleby, Sandra;Donnellan, Stephen C.	P. Aplin, Kenneth, N. Armstrong, Kyle, M. Aplin, Lucy, Jenkins, Paula, Ingleby, Sandra, Donnellan, Stephen C. (2025): Hidden diversity in an ecologically specialized genus of Australian marsupials, the feather-tailed gliders, Acrobates (Diprotodontia, Acrobatidae). Zootaxa 5566 (3): 535-564, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5
386587D4E037FFBA9BFFF9B2FE1EF8BA.text	386587D4E037FFBA9BFFF9B2FE1EF8BA.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Acrobates pulchellus Rothschild 1892	<html xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
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            <p> Acrobates pulchellus Rothschild, 1892</p>
            <p> Type specimens. [designation by Thomas (1922)]:  The lectotype (NHMUK 1888.3.17.1; an adult male) and   paralectotype (NHMUK 1888.3.17.2; an adult female) of A.  pygmaeus (Shaw, 1794) are spirit preserved bodies, the lectotype with the skull extracted and in good condition, the paralectotype with cranium in situ  . </p>
            <p>Diagnosis. Tail furred ventrally to the end, tipped with a small nubbin of naked skin (Fig. 3A); terminal pads of pedal digits 4 and 5 rounded, sub-equal in length and width, and with narrow distal groove; base of hallux with two distinct raised pads, both bearing striae (Fig. 3C); tail fringe hairs usually with a 1–2 mm wide cream emargination; ventral fur grey-based with cream tips, most individuals with entirely cream or white fur on throat and upper chest, rarely extending to lower abdomen (Fig. 4). The ear canal disc, in external view, occupies between 60 and 70% of the width of the tympanic canal, has a raised narrow central ridge from the base that projects between 50 and 80% of the width of the disc. The disc in the internal view lacks sculpturing (Fig. 5).</p>
            <p>Description. Body measurements based on mature adults are presented in Table 3. Small body size, up to 20 g and 85 mm head-body length. Flanks with a narrow patagium, running along the limbs and flank from the wrist to the knee.</p>
            <p>Soft and silky fur, greyish brown dorsally (Fig. 4 F-I). Most individuals with entirely cream or white fur on throat and upper chest, rarely extending to lower abdomen, otherwise ventral fur grey-based with cream tips (Fig. 4 F-I). Colouring sharply demarcated at the edge of the patagium.</p>
            <p>Tail equal in length to the head and body (mean = 1.08). Tail markedly distichous and oval in cross-section, with very short ashy-brown fur on the upper and lower surfaces, paler below than above. Tail furred ventrally to the end, tipped with a small nubbin of naked skin. Broad fringe of stiff long hairs along each side (about 8 mm in length), tail fringe hairs usually with a 1-2 mm wide cream emargination.</p>
            <p>The eyes are large, dark and encircled with black fur. The rhinarium is naked, flesh coloured, and deeply cleft; the nostrils are lateral.</p>
            <p>The ears are moderately large, flattened, oval, and moderately furred externally.</p>
            <p>Long vibrissae, unusually numerous, extend from the snout, cheeks, and base of each ear with shorter vibrissae extending from the chin.</p>
            <p>Hands and feet brown above, feet well furred, hands thinly furred. Terminal pads of pedal digits 4 and 5 rounded, subequal in length and width, and with narrow distal groove; base of hallux with two distinct raised pads both bearing striae (Fig. 3C).</p>
            <p>Manual digits of relatively similar length in the following order 4&gt;3&gt;2&gt;5&gt;1. Palmar surfaces hairless, with four broad low pads, three at the base of the fingers and one at the base of the palm. Length of pedal digits in the following order 4&gt;5&gt;3&gt;2&gt;1. Plantar surfaces hairless with five small pads, four at the base of the toes and one at the base of the foot. Tips of the toes with flattened and striated pads, those on the syndactylous toes 2 and 3 separate and well developed, but smaller than the others. Syndactylous toes 2 and 3 united only to the ends of the first phalanx. Claws sharp and well developed, small in comparison with finger and toepads.</p>
            <p>Dentition diprotodont. The homology of the anterior dentition of the mandible is not yet determined (Aplin 2015; Kelt and Patton 2020). The dental formula is currently described as I 3/1, C 1/1?, P 3/3? M 3/3 = 20+16=36 (Fig. 6), based on examination of five vouchers (ANWC M3745, M6184, M24072, NHMUK 88.3.17.1, NHMUK 1939.2988). We note that the dental formula we have observed is at variance with previous descriptions in Harris (2015), Nowak (2018), Thomas (1888), but consistent with the dental formula in an illustration of the cranium and dentary of AMS M 3294 in Harris (2015).</p>
            <p> Variation in cranial and dental morphology is illustrated in Fig. 6 and Supplementary Fig. S2. We note that the description of cranial and dental morphology for  Acrobates in Thomas’ (1888) account is likely based on a composite series of both species of  Acrobates given the collection locations he listed for the 17 specimens he had available. Recently, Fabian et al. (2023), in describing several fossil acrobatids, carried out a comparison of dental morphology of extant and extinct acrobatids. From their appendix of material examined we were able to determine that they examined dentaries from 12 specimens of  A. pygmaeus and 24  A. frontalis (Supplementary Table S1). Fabian et al. (2023) effectively had done a “blind” analysis of dental variation in that they did not identify the vouchers to species level prior to their examination and subsequently stated that: “we did not detect significant variation in the dental features we examined, including in m1 morphology (see Results). We conservatively refer to all of these specimens as  A. pygmaeus ”. </p>
            <p> Distribution. Broadly distributed across forested and wooded regions of south-eastern Australia, including: the south-eastern corner of South Australia; Victoria with the exception of the inland draining catchments of the Murray Basin; the Great Dividing Range of New South Wales, north to the Border and McPherson Ranges in south-eastern Queensland; and the coastal drainages of the Great Dividing Range, north at least to the Wallamba River, Tuncurry—AMS M25806 (Fig. 7).  Acrobates pygmaeus is regionally sympatric with  A. frontalis throughout its entire range, with numerous instances of syntopy at the level of museum locational data (Supplementary Table S1). </p>
            <p> Remarks. The lectotype and paralectotype of  Didelphis pygmaea Shaw 1794 are leached of all pigment and stained a uniform brown colour. The lectotype is in poor condition, with much of the fur stripped from the venter and from the tail. The manus and pes are clenched and dehydrated, and no details of the plantar surface are discernible. However, the terminal pads of pedal digits 4 and 5, while folded and somewhat shrivelled, seem to be relatively unexpanded and thus consistent with  Acrobates pygmaeus rather than  A. frontalis . </p>
            <p> The holotype of  Acrobates pulchellus Rothschild, 1892 (NHMUK 1939.2988) is a well-preserved puppet skin and a cleaned skull which lacks the rear part of the skull Supplementary Fig. S2 B). The purplish-brown colour of the dorsal fur, noted as a diagnostic feature by Rothschild (1892), falls within the observed variation of both species. The tail is short but the density of ventral fur at the tip leaves us in no doubt that it is damaged, possibly to a significant degree. The pes is consistent in morphology with  A. pygmaeus , featuring relatively small, ovate terminal pads on each of digits IV-V and a prominent accessory hallucal pad on which the striae are clearly visible. The extensively grey-based ventral pelage of NHMUK 1939.2988, though not strictly diagnostic at species level, nonetheless is also consistent with the typical condition in  A. pygmaeus . </p>
            <p> Our assessment of the holotype of  A. pulchellus supports and extends the previous findings of Tate (1938). In all morphological respects, including the morphology of the skull and teeth examined by Tate (1938), the purportedly New Guinean holotype of  Acrobates pulchellus resembles  A. pygmaeus of south-eastern Australia, rather than northern populations of  A. frontalis . Like Tate, we favour the view that the locality details accompanying NHMUK 1939.2988 are spurious and that it was derived from somewhere in south-eastern Australia, a conclusion that could be tested further by DNA sequencing of the holotype. </p>
            <p>......continued on the next page</p>
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            <p>ABTC, Australian Biological Tissue Collection, South Australian Museum; AMS, Australian Museum; ANWC, Australian National Wildlife Collection; QM, Queensland Museum.;</p>
            <p>SAMA, South Australian Museum. ACAD—DNA extract sample number at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide; S1—short (148bp) BRCA1 sequences are in the Supplementary Text S1 file; S2—short (96bp) 12S rRNA sequences are in the Supplementary Text S2 file.</p>
            <p> Because of the extensive regional sympatry of the two species of  Acrobates in south-eastern Australia, retrospectively identifying which species was used in published studies of  Acrobates could be problematic. For instance, Ward (1990) reported four mammae in  Acrobates but the specific identity of the material he examined is not known. A possible exception would be for studies carried out on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales at elevations above 600 m. </p>
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	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/386587D4E037FFBA9BFFF9B2FE1EF8BA	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	P. Aplin, Kenneth;N. Armstrong, Kyle;M. Aplin, Lucy;Jenkins, Paula;Ingleby, Sandra;Donnellan, Stephen C.	P. Aplin, Kenneth, N. Armstrong, Kyle, M. Aplin, Lucy, Jenkins, Paula, Ingleby, Sandra, Donnellan, Stephen C. (2025): Hidden diversity in an ecologically specialized genus of Australian marsupials, the feather-tailed gliders, Acrobates (Diprotodontia, Acrobatidae). Zootaxa 5566 (3): 535-564, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5
386587D4E02FFFBC9BFFFD53FE41FB67.text	386587D4E02FFFBC9BFFFD53FE41FB67.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Acrobates frontalis De Vis 1887	<html xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3">
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            <p> Acrobates frontalis De Vis, 1887</p>
            <p>Recommended common name. Broad‐toed feather‐tailed glider</p>
            <p> Type specimens.   Syntypes QM J568, 569 (F), 570, three spirit preserved thinly furred pouch young, collected by Mr Kendall Broadbent in the vicinity of  Herbert Vale on the  Atherton Tableland of north Queensland. According to De Vis (1887: 1134) “ Three specimens caught in the same tree … all three of the same age and size”; the three are clearly non-independent siblings taken from a nest  .  QM J12569 has had the skull removed but this was not located in the QM collection; it may have been sent to Oldfield Thomas in London and formed the basis of his margin annotation regarding examination of a syntype in October 1916 . </p>
            <p>Diagnosis. Tail with terminal 2–3 mm unfurred ventrally, naked skin forming a prehensile pad (Fig 3B); terminal pads of pedal digits 4 and 5 broadly heart-shaped, much wider than long and with broad distal groove; base of hallux with a single raised pad bearing striae (Fig. 3D); tail fringe usually lacks pale emargination; ventral fur usually white or cream to roots, occasional individuals with grey-based fur in groin through to lower abdomen (Fig. 4). The ear canal disc occupies between 70 and 90% of the tympanic canal, has a raised narrow central ridge from the base that projects between 50 and 80% of the width of the disc, with the interior of the disc being depressed so that the margin appears raised. The disc in the internal view has sculpturing that emphasises the raised margin (Fig. 5).</p>
            <p>Description. Body measurements based on mature adults are presented in Table 3. Small body size, up to 92 mm head-body length. Flanks with a narrow patagium, running along the limbs and flank from the elbow to the knee.</p>
            <p>Soft and silky fur, greyish brown dorsally. Ventral fur usually white or cream to roots, occasional individuals with grey-based fur in groin through to lower abdomen (Fig. 4 A-D). Colouring sharply demarcated at the edge of the patagium.</p>
            <p>Tail slightly longer than the head and body (mean = 1.2). Tail markedly distichous and oval in cross-section, with very short ashy-brown fur on the upper and lower surfaces, paler below than above. Tail with terminal 2-3 mm unfurred ventrally, naked skin forming a prehensile pad (Fig. 3B). Broad fringe of stiff long hairs along each side (about 8 mm in length), tail fringe usually lacking pale emargination.</p>
            <p>The eyes are large, dark and encircled with black fur. The rhinarium is naked, flesh coloured, and deeply cleft; the nostrils are lateral.</p>
            <p>The ears are moderately large, flattened, oval, and moderately furred externally.</p>
            <p>Long vibrissae, unusually numerous, extend from the snout, cheeks, and base of each ear with shorter vibrissae extending from chin.</p>
            <p>Hands and feet brown above, feet well furred, hands thinly furred. Terminal pads of pedal digits 4 and 5 broadly heart-shaped, much wider than long and with broad distal groove; base of hallux with a single raised pad (Fig. 3D). Claws thin and sharp, barely extending beyond the level of the pads.</p>
            <p>Manual digits with relatively similar length in the following order 4&gt;3&gt;2&gt;5&gt;1. Palmar surfaces hairless, with four broad low pads, three at the base of the fingers and one at the base of the palm. Length of pedal digits in the following order 4&gt;5&gt;3&gt;2&gt;1. Plantar surfaces hairless with five small pads, four at the base of the toes and one at the base of the foot.</p>
            <p>Mammary formula unknown.</p>
            <p>Dentition diprotodont with a formula of I 3/1, C 1/1?, P 3/3? M 3/3 = 20+16=36, based on examination of three vouchers (ANWC M223, M2960, M298760).</p>
            <p>Variation in cranial and dental morphology is illustrated in Fig. 6 and Supplementary Fig. S2.</p>
            <p> Distribution. Broadly distributed across forested and wooded regions of eastern Australia, including: the south-eastern corner of South Australia; Victoria with the exception of the Wimmera region; and the Great Dividing Range and its coastal drainages of New South Wales and Queensland, north to Cape Weymouth on the eastern side of Cape York Peninsula.  Acrobates frontalis is regionally sympatric with  A. pygmaeus throughout large areas of south-eastern Australia, with numerous instances of syntopy at the level of museum locational data (Fig. 7, Supplementary Table S1). </p>
            <p> Remarks. Even though the syntypes of  A. frontalis are clearly non-independent pouch young, the key diagnostic features of the widespread taxon are evident, including the naked prehensile pad on the underside of the tail tip, the heart-shaped terminal pads on pedal digits 4 and 5, and the accessory striated pad at the base of the hallux. The tail was accurately described by De Vis (1887: 1135) —“The under surface of the tail is more scantily clothed with shorter white hair continued centrally to an eighth of an inch from the tip, and laterally nearly to the tip”. The patagium, noted as “rudimentary” by De Vis, is represented by a distinct skin fold that extends from the elbow to the knee. The stiffened hairs of the tail fringe, so characteristic of the adult animal, are undeveloped and the future fringe is evident only in the laterally divergent growth of some fine hairs in the basal portion of the tail. De Vis (1887: 1135) reported the accompanying Indigenous name of “cubbie-cubbie”. </p>
            <p> The geographic range of  A. frontalis in south-eastern Australia overlaps extensively with that of  A. pygmaeus (Fig. 7). However, there are large areas where  A. frontalis is the only species present: Queensland north of the McPherson and Border Ranges, coastal New South Wales north of the Wallamba River, the headwater catchments of the Murray River in north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales, and the middle reaches of the Murray between Swan Hill in north central Victoria and Renmark in South Australia. </p>
            <p> Unfortunately, very few of the published studies of  Acrobates were conducted in regions of exclusive occurrence. Among the few exceptions are Russell’s (1980) natural history observations on feather-tailed gliders in northern Queensland and studies that include feather-tailed gliders from the northern coast of New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland (Kirk et al. 2000; Hackett &amp; Goldingay 2001; Smith &amp; Agnew 2002; Wormington et al. 2002, Goldingay et al. 2007). </p>
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	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/386587D4E02FFFBC9BFFFD53FE41FB67	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	P. Aplin, Kenneth;N. Armstrong, Kyle;M. Aplin, Lucy;Jenkins, Paula;Ingleby, Sandra;Donnellan, Stephen C.	P. Aplin, Kenneth, N. Armstrong, Kyle, M. Aplin, Lucy, Jenkins, Paula, Ingleby, Sandra, Donnellan, Stephen C. (2025): Hidden diversity in an ecologically specialized genus of Australian marsupials, the feather-tailed gliders, Acrobates (Diprotodontia, Acrobatidae). Zootaxa 5566 (3): 535-564, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5566.3.5
