Flying squirrel

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iFlying squirrels
Fossil range: Early Oligocene - Recent

Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Subfamily:	Sciurinae
Tribe:	Pteromyini Brandt, 1855

Genera

Aeretes
Aeromys
Belomys
Biswamoyopterus
Eupetaurus
Glaucomys
Hylopetes
Iomys
Petaurillus
Petaurista
Petinomys
Pteromys
Pteromyscus
Trogopterus

The flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of squirrel (family Sciuridae). There are 43 species in this tribe, the largest of which is the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus). The 2 species of the genus Glaucomys (Glaucomys sabrinus and Glaucomys volans) are native to North America, and it is these that are commonly meant when the name "flying squirrel" is used in English, although the term is frequently also used by Europeans to refer to the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans).

The term "flying" is somewhat of a misnomer, since flying squirrels are actually gliders incapable of true flight. Gliding is achieved by this animal by launching off the tops of trees and extending flaps of skin stretched from arms to legs: once they have launched themselves into the air they are highly maneuverable while in flight. Steering is accomplished by adjusting tautness of the patagium, largely controlled by a small cartilaginous wrist bone. The tail acts as a stabilizer in flight, much like the tail of a kite, and as an adjunct aerofoil when "braking" prior to landing on a tree trunk. When the tail has been severed from a flying squirrel it will not glide, it will fall in a pattern more similar to a leaf.

Flying squirrels travel through forests by gliding between trees. The distance traveled in one glide can range anywhere between 30 and 130 meters. In order to do this, they travel quite fast, usually gliding at about 15 meters per second. To get this speed, they must dive quite steeply at first, and then level out to around 12 degrees to the horizontal. They lose a lot of elevation during the steep part of the glide, so the trees that the squirrels glide between must be relatively tall (about 20 meters) for the gliding to be an effective way to travel.

Though their lifespan is only about five years in the wild, flying squirrels often live between 10 and 15 years in captivity. This difference in lifespan is due to these creatures being important prey animals, probably the most well-known being the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Predation mortality rates in sub-adults are very high. Predators include arboreal snakes, raccoons, nocturnal owls, marten, fisher, coyote and the domestic house cat.

1 Genera
2 Popular culture reference
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Genera

A Southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) in flight.

Aeretes, 1 species, the Groove-toothed Flying Squirrel or North Chinese Flying Squirrel (A. melanopterus), northeast China.
Aeromys, 2 species, Thailand to Borneo.
Belomys, 1 species, the hairy-footed flying squirrel (B. pearsonii), southeast Asia.
Biswamoyopterus, 1 species, the Namdapha flying squirrel, India.
Eupetaurus, 1 species, the woolly flying squirrel, Kashmir; rare.
Glaucomys (American flying squirrels), 2 species, the Northern flying squirrel and the Southern flying squirrel, North America.
Hylopetes, 7 species, southeast Asia.
Iomys, 1 species, Horsfield's Flying Squirrel, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Petaurillus (pygmy flying squirrels), 3 species, Borneo and Malaya.
Petaurista (giant flying squirrels), 5 species, southeast Asia (including the Japanese giant flying squirrel, the Red giant flying squirrel, and the giant flying-squirrel).
Petinomys, 9 species, southeast Asia.
Pteromys, 2 species, Finland to Japan (including the Japanese dwarf flying squirrel).
Pteromyscus, 1 species, the Smoky Flying Squirrel, southern Thailand to Borneo.
Trogopterus, 1 species, the complex-toothed flying squirrel, China.