The spotted giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista elegans''), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species 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 n ...
in 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 ...
.
It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of in
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 south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
north to central
China and the east
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
n region,
although the northern populations sometimes are regarded as separate species as the grey-headed giant flying squirrel (''P. caniceps''), Chindwin giant flying squirrel (''P. sybilla'') 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
''Petaurista'' is a genus of rodent in the family Sciuridae. They are large to very large flying squirrels found in forests and other wooded habitats in southern and eastern Asia.
Like other flying squirrels, they are mostly nocturnal and abl ...
.[
Like other flying squirrels, it is nocturnal and able to ]glide
Glide may refer to:
* Gliding flight, to fly without thrust
Computing
*Glide API, a 3D graphics interface
*Glide OS, a web desktop
*Glide (software), an instant video messenger
*Glide, a molecular docking software by Schrödinger (company), Schr ...
(not actually fly like a bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". 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 ...
) long distances between trees by spreading out its patagium, skin between its limbs. A rather noisy species that has a drawn-out cry that often can be heard at night, it spends the day in a tree hollow, or, less often, on a cliff ledge or in a nest made of vegetation in a tree. It feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and flowers, and has one, occasionally two, young per litter.
Taxonomy
Considerable taxonomic uncertainty surrounds the northern subspecies ''caniceps'', ''sybilla'' and ''marica'' of the spotted giant flying squirrel. Especially the distinctive ''caniceps'' (grey-headed giant flying squirrel) and less often ''sybilla'' (Chindwin giant flying squirrel) have been regarded as separate species. 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 data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...
'' opted to regard all as subspecies of the spotted giant flying squirrel. In 2012, it was proposed that ''caniceps'' should be regarded as a separate species, but with ''sybilla'' as its subspecies, while leaving ''marica'' as a subspecies of ''P. elegans''. However, in addition to their distinctive appearance, ''caniceps'', ''sybilla'' and ''marica'' occur together in a small part of southern China. A genetic study has revealed that ''caniceps'' is distantly related to all of these, being closer to some other species like the 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 ...
. Although ''sybilla'', ''marica'' and ''P. elegans'' are closer to each other than they are to any other giant flying squirrel, they are quite deeply split. It is estimated that ''sybilla'' split from ''marica'' about 1.87 million years ago, and they split from ''P. elegans'' even earlier.[ Another study that compared north Vietnam specimens (either ''sybilla'' or ''marica'' based on appearance and location) with ''P. elegans'' also revealed a relatively deep genetic split between them.] This has resulted in the recommendation of recognizing ''caniceps'', ''sybilla'' and ''marica'' as separate species, but some unresolved issues remain. Both genetic studies were based on ''P. elegans'' of the subspecies ''sumatrana'' from Sumatra.[ The subspecies ''punctata'' of the ]Thai-Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...
has not been sampled. In appearance it quite resembles ''sumatrana'',[ but intermediates between ''punctata'' and ''marica'' may occur in the area where their ranges come into contact in Thailand.][
A secondary problem is related to certain Chinese and ]Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
i populations, by some authorities recognize as the subspecies ''clarkei'' and ''gorkhali'',[ but others consider both as synonyms of ''caniceps''.][ Additionally, populations in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Guangxi, ]Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
, Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
and Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
appear to belong to two undescribed taxa.[
]
Appearance
The spotted giant flying squirrel has a head-and-body length of about , tail length of and weighs . This makes it a large species of flying squirrel, but the smallest giant flying squirrel in its range.
The underparts are light orange-brown to pale rufous
Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish-red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a dia ...
, but especially the colour of the head, upperparts and tail vary considerably depending on subspecies. The first group of subspecies has a black tail with only the base rufous-brown. In ''P. e. punctata'' of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, the head and upperparts are rufous-brown, somewhat darker on the midback. The upperparts from the top of the head and shoulders to the rump have many relatively large white spots, although on occasion they are more restricted. ''P. e. banksi'' of highlands of northern Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...
is similar, except that its upper head, nape and back are black, resulting in a clear contrast with the rich rufous-brown flanks and tail base. It has white spots above as in ''P. e. punctata'', but these can be absent in young. The Sumatran ''P. e. sumatrana'' resembles ''P. e. punctata'', but has fewer white spots that mostly are distributed on the mid-back. The Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
n ''P. e. elegans'' and ''P. e. slamatensis'' (the latter likely is a synonym of the former[) resemble ''P. e. banksi'', but the upperparts often are more grizzled-black and white spots can be entirely absent.][
The second group of subspecies has an entirely (''P. e. marica'' and ''P. e. sybilla'') or mostly (''P. e. caniceps'') orangish-brown or reddish-brown tail. ''P. e. marica'' from Mainland Southeast Asia (except the Thai-Malay Peninsula) and southern ]Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
and westernmost Guangxi in China is lighter brown above than ''P. e. punctata'' and has less white spots that mostly are distributed on the top of the head to the central back. ''P. e. sybilla'' of northern Myanmar, southern Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and Yunnan in China and easternmost Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...
in India is orangish-brown or reddish-brown above with a slightly more grey-brown back that completely lacks white spots. The final subspecies, ''P. e. caniceps'' from Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
in India and Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
to Arunachal Pradesh in India and southern Xizang
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of Ü ...
, Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...
and Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
in China, has a body-colouration similar to ''P. e. sybilla'' and also lacks white spots, but is unique in its black tail-tip and all grey head, except for a white throat and an orange-brown ring around each eye.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1498073
Petaurista
Rodents of India
Rodents of China
Rodents of Indonesia
Rodents of Laos
Rodents of Malaysia
Rodents of Myanmar
Mammals of Nepal
Rodents of Vietnam
Mammals described in 1840
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot