The Mentawi flying squirrel (''Iomys sipora'') is a species of

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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

where it is only known from the

Mentawai Islands Mentawai may refer to: * Mentawai Islands, Indonesia ** Mentawai Strait ** Mentawai people, ethnic group of Indonesia ** Mentawai language, their Austronesian language {{dab Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

( Sipura and

North Pagai North Pagai (Indonesian: ''Pagai Utara'') is the smallest of the four principal Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. It is south of Sipora and north of South Pagai (or Pagai Selatan) Island. The population figure given ...

). Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is lowland tropical primary

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

below

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Geographic distribution

It is endemic to the jungles of the Mentawai Islands (Indonesia).

Conservation status

It is threatened with extinction due to the loss of its natural habitat.

Sources

Iomys Endemic fauna of Indonesia Rodents of Indonesia Fauna of Sumatra Mentawai Islands Regency Endangered animals Endangered biota of Asia Mammals described in 1828 Taxa named by Frederick Nutter Chasen Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by C. Boden Kloss {{Squirrel-stub