flying squirrel
-
What is a flying squirrel?
A flying squirrel is any of over 50 species of gliding squirrels, not actually capable of flight, found in North America, northern Eurasia, India, and other parts of Asia. These nocturnal rodents possess a fur-covered membrane between their forelimbs and hind limbs that allows them to glide up to 450 meters. They den in tree cavities, rock crevices, and build nests of leaves and moss high in the trees. Depending on the species, their diets include seeds, nuts, fungi, insects, and even small birds.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is a flying squirrel different from other squirrels?
Flying squirrels differ from other squirrels because they have a patagium, a membrane of skin between their forelegs and hind legs, which allows them to glide through the air. They are also nocturnal, unlike other squirrels. When not in use, the membranes are pulled close to the body.
Flying squirrels are long-limbed and slender with large eyes and a long, bushy tail. They weigh from 1 to 2.5 kg and have a body length of about 30 to 60 cm, with tails 35 to 64 cm long. The smallest flying squirrels have bodies just 7 to 9 cm long with tails of 6 to 10 cm.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do flying squirrels move from tree to tree?
Flying squirrels don't actually fly; they glide between trees using a membrane of skin called a patagium that stretches between their forelegs and hindlegs. When a flying squirrel leaps from a tree, it extends its limbs to stretch out the membranes, creating a gliding platform.
By manipulating the membranes and tail, the squirrel can control the direction of its glide. They can adjust their surface area to curve their trajectory: to turn right, the right patagium is relaxed. Just before landing on another tree, the flying squirrel pulls upward, allowing it to land on all four feet. Some species can glide up to 450 meters.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What special body parts help flying squirrels glide?
Flying squirrels have a special adaptation that allows them to glide. They possess a patagium, a fold of skin connecting their forelimbs and hind limbs, which expands into a gliding membrane when the limbs are stretched out. This membrane transforms the squirrel's body into a gliding platform, enabling them to leap from high trees and sail to adjacent trees.
The squirrels control their glide by manipulating this membrane and their tail. A cartilaginous rod extending from the wrist supports the front part of each membrane alongside the body. When not in use, the membranes are pulled close to the body.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where do flying squirrels live and what do they eat?
Flying squirrels live in temperate and tropical forests in India, Asia, and North America. They den in tree cavities, rock crevices, and cave ledges, and they build nests of leaves, bark, mosses, or lichens high in trees.
Flying squirrels' diets include seeds, fruit, leaves, flower buds, nuts, fungi, lichens, pollen, ferns, tree sap, insects, spiders, other invertebrates, small birds, eggs, snakes, and smaller mammals. They are nocturnal and, unlike other squirrels, some regularly descend to the ground to forage and bury nuts.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do flying squirrels avoid predators in the wild?
Flying squirrels use several strategies to avoid predators. Because they are nocturnal, they are active when many predators are not. They build nests in tree cavities, rock crevices, and cliffs. Flying squirrels can also make warning calls to alert others of danger. When in the trees, monkeys and squirrels will gather to intimidate predators on the ground. Their gliding ability helps them escape; they leap from high trees and use a membrane between their limbs to glide to other trees.
4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
flying squirrel, (tribe Pteromyini), any of more than 50 species of gliding squirrels. Three species are North American, two live in northern Eurasia, and all others are found in the temperate and tropical forests of India and other parts of Asia. Although these rodents do not fly, glides of up to 450 metres (almost 1,500 feet) have been recorded for Giant flying squirrels (Petaurista). Ample loose skin and underlying muscle typically form a fur-covered membrane between each forelimb and hind limb; some species have smaller membranes between the head and wrists and between the hind limbs and tail. A cartilaginous rod that extends from the wrist supports the front part of each membrane alongside the body.
Flying squirrels are long-limbed and slender and have large eyes; the long, bushy tail may be cylindrical or flattened. Their dense fur is soft and long and either silky or woolly in texture. A considerable range of body size exists among the 15 genera. Some giant flying squirrels of tropical India and southeastern Asia weigh 1 to 2.5 kg (2.2 to 5.5 pounds) and have a body length of about 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 inches) and a tail 35 to 64 cm (about 14 to 25 inches) long. The smallest are the dwarf flying squirrels (Petaurillus) of northern Borneo and the Malay Peninsula; their bodies are just 7 to 9 cm (about 2.8 to 3.5 inches) long and their tails 6 to 10 cm (about 2.4 to 4 inches). When seen in the tall trees of the tropical rainforest, the glides of these tiny rodents are easily mistaken for the flutter of large butterflies.
Natural history
Unlike other squirrels, flying squirrels are nocturnal. They den in tree cavities, grottoes or rock crevices on cliffs, and cave ledges. Some also build globular nests high in trees where branches join the trunk. Nests are made of leaves, shredded bark, mosses, or lichens. Most species seldom leave the trees, but North American flying squirrels (Glaucomys) regularly descend to the ground to forage and bury nuts. Depending upon the species, diets can include seeds, fruit, leaves, flower buds, nuts, fungi, lichens, pollen, ferns, tree sap, insects, spiders, other invertebrates, small birds, eggs, snakes, and smaller mammals.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
From high in a tree, the squirrel leaps into the air and extends its limbs to stretch the membranes, transforming the body into a gliding platform that is controlled by manipulating the membranes and tail. The animal sails downward to an adjacent tree. Just before the glide ends, it pulls upward, landing deftly on all four feet. When not in use, the membranes are pulled close to the body.
Classification and evolution
According to most taxonomies, flying squirrels constitute tribe Pteromyini within the subfamily Sciurinae of the squirrel family (Sciuridae). Some authorities regard flying squirrels as a family (Pteromyidae), however, and a few species of anomalure are occasionally called scaly-tailed flying squirrels, but these rodents are classified in the family Anomaluridae. Previously, flying squirrels were placed in the subfamily Pteromyinae within Pteromyidae. Some researchers speculated later that Pteromyinae was not a single group but members from two different clusters of tree squirrels or possibly nonsquirrel ancestors. Recent evidence derived from fossils and the anatomy of wrist and gliding membranes, however, indicates that all living flying squirrel species are closely related and likely evolved from a tree squirrel ancestor during the Oligocene Epoch (33.9 million to 23 million years ago).