Sugar preferences of Honey Possums, Tarsipes rostratus (Marsupialia: Tarsipedidae) and Western Pygmy-possums, Cercartetus concinnus (Marsupialia: Burramyidae).

Abstract

Sugar preferences of Tarsipes rostra/us and Cercartetus concinnus were investigated in the laboratory. Tarsi pes rostra/us preferred sucrose to fructose, and preferred both of these to glucose, but appeared unable to differentiate consistently between mixtures of these three sugars. The C. concinnus had a preference for fructose over both sucrose and glucose. Plant species visited often by T. rostratus had no consistent pattern in the types or proportions of sugars present in their floral nectars. Tarsipes rostratus may rely on other factors, such as the sugar concentration in nectar, to determine its plant visitation. Cercartetus concinnus, a less specialised feeder, also utilises nectar as an energy-rich food, but irrespect(ve of the sugar types it oontains.