''Petaurista'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Sciuridae Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

. They are large to very large

flying squirrels 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 ...

found in forests and other wooded habitats in southern and eastern Asia. Like other flying squirrels, they are mostly

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and able to glide (not actually fly like a

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

) long distances between trees by spreading out their

patagium The patagium (: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flying. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, theropod dinosaurs (inclu ...

, skin between their limbs. They feed primarily on plant material, but will also take small animals such as insects.

Taxonomy

The species level

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

is very complex and not fully resolved. In 2005, ''

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

'' recognised eight species, but later studies have found that some of these were highly

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

, and recent authorities have often recognised some of the most divergent "

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

" as valid species. Additionally, three new species were described from northeastern India in 2007–2013, although their validity needs to be confirmed.

Living species

Eight species were recognised in ''Mammal Species of the World'' in 2005: * Red and white giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista alborufus'' Milne-Edwards, 1870 *

Spotted giant flying squirrel The spotted giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista elegans''), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of in Southeast Asia north to centr ...

, ''Petaurista elegans'' Müller, 1840 *

Japanese giant flying squirrel The is a species of flying squirrel, one of the giant flying squirrels in the genus ''Petaurista''. Description Like other flying squirrels, it has a web of skin between its legs which it uses to glide between trees. Glides of have been reco ...

, ''Petaurista leucogenys'' Temminck, 1827 *

Hodgson's giant flying squirrel Hodgson's giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista magnificus'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. This large flying squirrel lives in Himalayan forests in Asia. Like other flying squirrels, it is nocturnal and able to glide (not actu ...

, ''Petaurista magnificus'' Hodgson, 1836 *

Bhutan giant flying squirrel The Bhutan giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista nobilis''), also known as the Gray's giant flying squirrel or noble giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. This species lives in Himalayan forests and it is one of th ...

, ''Petaurista nobilis'' Gray, 1842 *

Red giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

, ''Petaurista petaurista'' Pallas, 1766 *

Indian giant flying squirrel The Indian giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista philippensis''), also called the large brown flying squirrel or the common giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is capable of gliding flight using a skin membrane ...

, ''Petaurista philippensis'' Elliot, 1839 * Chinese giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista xanthotis'' Milne-Edwards, 1872 Seven additional species now often recognised, but traditionally considered subspecies: *

White-bellied giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

, ''Petaurista albiventer'' Gray, 1834 * Grey-headed giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista caniceps'' Gray, 1842 *

Formosan giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

, ''Petaurista grandis'' Swinhoe, 1863 *

Hainan giant flying squirrel The Indian giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista philippensis''), also called the large brown flying squirrel or the common giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is capable of gliding flight using a skin membrane ...

, ''Petaurista hainana'' G. Allen, 1925 * Taiwan giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista lena'' Thomas, 1907 *

, ''Petaurista marica'' Thomas, 1912 *

Chindwin giant flying squirrel The spotted giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista elegans''), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of in Southeast Asia north to centr ...

, ''Petaurista sybilla'' Thomas and Wroughton, 1916 Three new species that were described by

Anwaruddin Choudhury Anwaruddin Choudhury (born 1959 in Shillong, Meghalaya) is an Indian ornithologist, mammalogist, and wildlife conservation specialist with a focus on North-East India. His work spans decades of research, field studies, and policy advocacy. He ...

from

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

in 2007–2013: * Mechuka giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista mechukaensis'' Choudhury, 2007 * Mishmi giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista mishmiensis'' Choudhury, 2009 * Mebo giant flying squirrel, ''Petaurista siangensis'' Choudhury, 2013

Extinct species

In addition to the living species, there are a few extinct species that only are known from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

remains from the Mid and Late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

in China, the Russian Far East and Germany: * †''Petaurista brachyodus'' Young, 1934 * †''Petaurista helleri'' Dehm, 1962 * †''Petaurista tetyukhensis'' Tiunov & Gimranov, 2019

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1080535 Rodent genera Taxa named by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link Taxonomy articles created by Polbot