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 na ...

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 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 ar ...

, 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 A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

is quite different from that of the

sciurid 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. Sq ...

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 mouthpart ...

, 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 hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

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), fur or ...

s, having evolved from climbing animals. The others include the true

s of

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

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 Philippine fl ...

s or flying lemurs of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, 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 po ...

gliding possum There are many different types of gliding possum, sometimes referred to as volplane possum, flying phalangers, or simply as gliders: Australian gliders * Feathertail glider or pygmy gliding possum, ''Acrobates pygmaeus'' * Greater glider, ''Petau ...

s of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Taxonomy

Taxonomy follows Fabre et al. 2018. *Family Anomaluridae **Genus ''

Anomalurus ''Anomalurus'' is the largest genus in the rodent family Anomaluridae, with four species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often ...

'' ***

Beecroft's flying squirrel Beecroft's flying squirrel (''Anomalurus beecrofti'') or Beecroft's scaly-tailed squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Anomaluridae. Some authorities consider it to be monotypic within the genus ''Anomalurops''. Its natural habitats are ...

, ''Anomalurus beecrofti'' ***

Lord Derby's scaly-tailed flying squirrel Lord Derby's scaly-tailed squirrel (''Anomalurus derbianus'') is an anomalurid rodent native to Africa. It was named after Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. Range and habitat Lord Derby's scaly-tailed squirrel lives in tropical and sub ...

, ''Anomalurus derbianus'' ***

Pel's flying squirrel Pel's flying squirrel or Pel's scaly-tailed squirrel (''Anomalurus pelii'') is a species of rodent in the family Anomaluridae. It is found in Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana, where it lives in lowland tropical rainforests. It is named after He ...

, ''Anomalurus pelii'' ***

Dwarf scaly-tailed squirrel The dwarf scaly-tailed squirrel (''Anomalurus pusillus'') 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, Gabon a ...

, ''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 a ...

, ''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 ...

, ''Idiurus zenkeri''

Fossil genera

Several fossil genera are also known: * Genus †'' Argouburus'' * Genus †''

Kabirmys ''Kabirmys qarunensis'' is an extinct species of Anomalure, anomaluroid (scaly-tailed flying squirrel) rodent from the earliest late Eocene of the Birket Qarun Formation from northern Egypt. So far, it was monotypic in its genus. It was described ...

''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