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The Anomaluridae are a family of
rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are ...
s found in central Africa. They are known as anomalures or scaly-tailed squirrels. The six extant species are classified into two genera. All anomalurids have membranes between their front and hind legs like those of a
flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe (biology), tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family (biology), family Squirrel, Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight i ...
, but they are not closely related to the flying squirrels that form the tribe Petauristini of the family
Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
. They are distinguished by two rows of pointed, raised scales on the undersides of their tails. The anatomy of their heads is quite different from that of the sciurid
flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe (biology), tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family (biology), family Squirrel, Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight i ...
s. By extending their limbs, anomalures transform themselves into a gliding platform that they control by manipulating the membranes and tail. Most anomalurid species roost during the day in hollow trees, with up to several dozen animals per tree. They are primarily
herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...
, and may travel up to from their roosting tree in search of leaves, flowers, or fruit, although they also eat a small amount of
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, Thorax (ins ...
s. They give birth to litters up to three young, which are born already furred and active. Anomalurids represent one of several independent evolutions of gliding ability in
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fu ...
s, having evolved from climbing animals. The others include the true
flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe (biology), tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family (biology), family Squirrel, Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight i ...
s of
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and
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,
colugo Colugos () are arboreal gliding mammals that are native to Southeast Asia. Their closest evolutionary relatives are primates. There are just two living species of colugos: the Sunda flying lemur (''Galeopterus variegatus'') and the Philippin ...
s or flying lemurs of
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, and the
marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a p ...
gliding possums of
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.


Taxonomy

Taxonomy follows Fabre et al. 2018. *Family Anomaluridae **Genus '' Anomalurus'' *** Beecroft's flying squirrel, ''Anomalurus beecrofti'' *** Lord Derby's scaly-tailed flying squirrel, ''Anomalurus derbianus'' *** Pel's flying squirrel, ''Anomalurus pelii'' *** Dwarf scaly-tailed squirrel, ''Anomalurus pusillus'' **Genus '' Idiurus'' ***
Long-eared flying mouse The long-eared flying mouse (''Idiurus macrotis'') or long-eared scaly-tailed flying squirrel, is a species of flying mouse from western and central Africa. It is not actually a squirrel, nor a mouse, though it is a rodent. Not much is known abou ...
, ''Idiurus macrotis'' ***
Pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel The pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel (''Idiurus zenkeri'') is a species of rodent in the family Anomaluridae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Ug ...
, ''Idiurus zenkeri''


Fossil genera

Several fossil genera are also known: * Genus †'' Argouburus'' * Genus †'' Kabirmys''Sallam, Hesham M; Seiffert, Erik R.; Simons, Elwyn L., Brindley, Chloe. ''A Large-bodied Anomaluroid rodent from the earliest late Eocene of Egypt: Phylogenetic and biogeographic implications.'' Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(5):1579–1593, September 2010. * Genus †'' Oromys'' * Genus †'' Paranomalurus'' * Genus †'' Pondaungimys'' * Genus †'' Prozenkerella'' * Genus †'' Shazurus''


External websites


Meet the Scaly-tail Gliders
Among the weirdest and most fascinating of rodents are the scalytails/scaly-tails, scaly-tailed squirrels or anomalures, properly termed Anomaluridae.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135251   Extant Eocene first appearances Taxa named by Paul Gervais