Hairy-footed flying squirrel

Hairy-footed flying squirrel
Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent
Conservation status

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Tribe: Pteromyini
Genus: Belomys
Thomas, 1908
Species: B. pearsonii
Binomial name
Belomys pearsonii
Gray, 1842

The hairy-footed flying squirrel (Belomys pearsonii) is a flying squirrel found in the mountains of the eastern Himalaya, Southeast Asia, and southern China till the island of Taiwan. It lives at altitudes between 1500 and 2400 m above sea level.

The fur is red-brown on the top and white at the bottom. Characteristic are the long hair at the feet, which even covers the claws to protect against the cold in the higher altitudes. The body has a length of about 22 cm; the tail is another 13 cm long.

As it is closely related to the complex-toothed flying squirrel, some taxonomists add the species to the genus Trogopterus.

References

  1. ↑ Duckworth, J. W. & Molur, S. (2008). Belomys pearsonii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2009.