The world’s gliding mammals are an extraordinary group of animals that have the ability to glide from tree to tree with seemingly effortless grace. There are more than 60 species of gliding mammals including the flying squirrels from Europe and North America, the scaly-tailed flying squirrels from central Africa and the gliding possums of Australia and New Guinea.
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae, Pteromyini
Description: Small in size compared to others of the genus Petaurista, its body and gliding membranes are greyish-yellow brown or blackish-brown.
Its ears are blackish-brown with yellow spots on the back, and its tail is long and bushy. Externally it is similar to Gray-headed Giant Flying Squirrel but has black feet and an orange-brown patch behind the ears.
Distribution: Endemic to central China, it occurs in Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces and Tibet (=Xizang). Within its known distribution the Chinese Giant Flying Squirrel inhabits subalpine spruce forests at elevations of
Reproduction: Very little is known. Pregnant females have been caught in April.
Diet: Includes tender leaves of plant material as well as bark, nuts of pine and fir trees, and insects.
Ecology: Very little is known. It makes its nest inside tree hollows.
Status: Least Concern.
| HB | 325–430 mm |
| TL | 294–360 mm |
| HF | 65–80 mm |
| M | 730–1200 g |
Petaurista petaurista
Petaurista philippensis
Petaurista yunanensis
Petinomys crinitus
Thomas’s Flying Squirrel
Aeromys thomasi
Southern Flying Squirrel
Glaucomys volans
Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel
Petaurista nobilis
Vordermann’s Flying Squirrel
Petinomys vordermanni