The diet of striped possums Dactylopsila trivirgata inhabiting the tropical forests of far north Queensland, Australia, was investigated by observing foraging behaviour and analysing stomach samples collected opportunistically from dead animals. In contrast to non-dactylopsiline petaurids, which frequently use plant exudates as well as invertebrates, observations on the foraging behaviour of D. trivirgata indicate that it is an opportunistic forager feeding mainly on invertebrates. Animals occasionally fed on plant exudates but these contributed little to the diet. Nine different orders of invertebrates were present in stomach samples, with wood boring coleopteran and lepidopteran larvae, and adult hymenopterans and isopterans being most frequently represented in the diet. This is consistent with the unusual morphological characteristics of D. trivirgata's, such as their elongated fourth finger and powerful jaws, which appear to be adaptations for extracting prey such as wood-boring larvae. Two of the important prey taxa in the diet (alates of Formicidae, and larvae of Cerambycidae) had a very high fat content (44% and 40% of dry weight, respectively) suggesting that the animals may target prey of high nutritional value. Anatomical investigations indicated that, relative to body weight, the digestive tract of D. trivirgata was shorter than that of most other petaurids. These data further support the idea that D. trivirgata is more reliant on invertebrates than other members of the family Petauridae.

The sugar glider Petaurus breviceps is generally considered to be a polygynous, group-nesting species. However, recent captive studies have indicated that dominance hierarchies and shared codominance amongst males formed when males were housed in multiple-male, multiple-female cages with male-biased sex ratios. This study uses data from sugar glider groups in natural populations to assess the probability of male dominance hierarchies and the opportunity for codominant father–son coalitions. Nesting groups of sugar gliders were found to have female-biased sex ratios ranging from 1:1.5 to 1:2.7 males:females. The dispersing sex was male – there were four records of recruitment into the natal group, all of which were female. Only one example was found of a long-term adult male association between a father and putative son, which did not occur in the natal group of the son. The evidence suggests that though father–son associations may occur, the opportunities for male dominance hierarchies or male coalitions are rare in sugar glider nesting groups in the natural environment.