Australian Marsupials Known as Flying Phalangers (Genus Petaurus),southeast Asian Mammals

Essay

Australian marsupials known as flying phalangers (genus Petaurus),southeast Asian mammals known as colugos (order Dermoptera),and North American flying squirrels (genus Glaucomys)are not closely related,but all three have furry membranes extending from wrist to ankle that enable them to glide from tree to tree.Explain how you could decide whether these similarities are due to convergence or to parallel evolution.