Flying squirrels are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they are able to glide from one tree to another with the aid of a patagium, a furred skin membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle. Their long tails also provide stability as they glide. Anatomically they are very similar to other squirrels with a number of adaptations to suit their lifestyle; their limb bones are longer and their hand bones, foot bones, and distal vertebrae are shorter. Flying squirrels are able to steer and exert control over their glide path with their limbs and tail.
The western woolly flying squirrel is a species of very large flying squirrel in the genus Eupetaurus. It is native to northern Pakistan and northwestern India. It was long considered the only species in the genus until the description of two other species in 2021. Until recently, scientific knowledge of this rare species was limited to 11 skins collected in the late nineteenth century. However, recent research has confirmed that it remains in Kashmir. It is among the longest members of the family Sciuridae, and one of the biggest gliding animals known. Observations confirm that despite its size, it does glide effectively, like other flying squirrels.
Sciurinae is a subfamily of squirrels, uniting the flying squirrels with certain related tree squirrels. Older sources place the flying squirrels in a separate subfamily (Pteromyinae) and unite all remaining sciurids into the subfamily Sciurinae, but this has been strongly refuted by genetic studies.
Eupetaurus is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae. Members of this genus are known as woolly flying squirrels. They are large to very large flying squirrels found in the highest rocky cliffs near the treeline of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. Due to the inaccessibility of their montane habitat, they are difficult to study.
Biswamoyopterus is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It contains three known species of very large flying squirrels, with B. laoensis being among the longest of all squirrels. They are distributed in forests in northeast India, southwest China and Laos. Despite their size, species in this genus tend to be very elusive; due to this, all of them have been described relatively recently. Additionally, they are easily confused with certain Petaurista giant flying squirrels that are more common and overlap in range with the rare Biswamoyopterus.
The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel 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 scattered trees in Southeast Asia, ranging north to the Himalayas and southern and central China. One of the largest arboreal squirrels, all populations have at least some reddish-brown above and pale underparts, but otherwise there are significant geographic variations in the colours. The taxonomic position of those in the Sundaic region is generally agreed upon, but there is considerable uncertainty about the others, which variously have been included in this or other species, or recognized as their own species.
Hylopetes is a genus of flying squirrels. There are about 10 species.
Micronomus norfolkensis is a species of molossid bat, a family of flying mammals. The bat is endemic to Australia, where it occurs from southeastern Queensland to eastern New South Wales. They are the sole species of genus Micronomus and referred to by variations on east-coast free-tailed bat.
The particolored flying squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The red and white giant flying squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is a very large, dark rufous-red, buff and white flying squirrel found in forests at altitudes of 800–3,500 m (2,600–11,500 ft) in mainland China and 1,200–3,750 m (3,940–12,300 ft) in Taiwan, although the population of the latter island is distinctive and likely better regarded as a separate species, the Taiwan giant flying squirrel. Additionally, the red and white giant flying squirrel possibly ranges into northeastern South Asia and far northern Mainland Southeast Asia. This squirrel has a wide range and is relatively common, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as being of "least concern".
The spotted giant flying squirrel, 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 200–4,000 m (660–13,120 ft) in Southeast Asia north to central China and the east Himalayan region, although the northern populations sometimes are regarded as separate species as the grey-headed giant flying squirrel, Chindwin giant flying squirrel and P. marica. Two of these, as well as a few other populations, lack the white spots on the upperparts for which it is named. Although a large flying squirrel, it is a relatively small giant flying squirrel.
The Indian giant flying squirrel, 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 stretched between front and hind legs. It is found in mainland Southeast and South Asia, and southern and central China.
The Skywalker hoolock gibbon or Gaoligong hoolock gibbon is an arboreal primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon and was first described in January 2017 in the American Journal of Primatology. The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is one of two species of Eastern hoolocks: H. tianxing and H. leuconedys. Researchers estimate H. tianxing diverged from H. leuconedys roughly 490,000 years ago. The Eastern hoolock is vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with a population of 310,000–370,000 individuals. Of this population, H. tianxing makes up less than 150 individuals, making the Skywalker hoolock gibbon an endangered species.
The Gaoligong forest hedgehog or Wang's forest hedgehog is a species of hedgehog in the family Erinaceidae found only in China. It is endemic to the slopes of Mt. Gaoligong in the Yunnan Province, where it lives in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest at elevations between 2200 m and 2680 m. This distribution is disjunct from that of the other species in this genus.
The Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel is a species of large, arboreal flying squirrel endemic to highland forests in southwestern China.
The Mechuka giant flying squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. First described in 2007 from East Himalayan forests at altitudes of 1,500–2,500 m (4,900–8,200 ft) in the region of Mechuka of north-central Arunachal Pradesh in India, its taxonomic status and position is not fully resolved. it was originally described as P. nigra but has been replaced by mechukaensis because it was a primary homonym of P. nigra Wang 1981.
The Tibetan woolly flying squirrel is a species of very large flying squirrel in the genus Eupetaurus. It is found in the south-central portion of the Tibetan Plateau, namely south-central Tibet, northern Sikkim, and western Bhutan.
The Yunnan woolly flying squirrel is a species of very large flying squirrel in the genus Eupetaurus. It is found on the southeastern margin of the Himalayas, namely in northwestern Yunnan and potentially Myanmar.
Mekongia is a genus of Viviparidae, a gastropoda mollusca in the subfamily Bellamyinae of the family Viviparidae.
The Hainan flying squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to Hainan Island in China.
