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: A very dark, grey-brown, medium-sized glider with fine pale greyish speckling on the upper parts of the body, while the underparts are creamy with some grey. Its tail fur is grey-buff at the base and its cheeks are greyish.
Distribution: Occurs in southern Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Penang Island (Pinang Island, Malaysia), Sumatra and Borneo. Its habitat includes tall forests where it is confined to undisturbed primary forest in Borneo. On the Malay Peninsula, it occurs in primary forest and partially cut primary forest and is replaced by the similarly medium-sized Javanese Flying Squirrel in the more disturbed replanted areas.
Reproduction: Appears to breed all year, with a peak between April to June. However, the pregnancy rate of animals studied in Malaysia was only 9 per cent so there appears to be yearly variation in which they may not breed during several months. The female produces one or two young.
Diet: Not much is known except that it includes beetles, seeds, fruit and leaves.
Ecology: Seven nest holes recorded at Poring were all
Status: Endangered.
| HB | 204–290 mm |
| TL | 177–235 mm |
| HF | 35–45 mm |
| M | 134–315 g |
Pteromyscus pulverulentus pulverulentus — Southern Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Penang Island (Pinang Island, Malaysia) and Sumatra.
Pteromyscus pulverulentus borneanus — Known from Poring in the eastern foothills of Gunnung Kinabalu in Sabah; Marudi, Panam District, G Dulit and west of Batang Lupar in Sarawak.
Pteromys momonga
Pteromys volans
Trogopterus xanthipes
Anomalurops beecrofti
Yellow-bellied Glider
Petaurus australis
Red-cheeked Flying Squirrel
Hylopetes spadiceus
Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel
Petaurista leucogenys
Siberut Flying Squirrel
Petinomys lugens