Giant flying squirrels , taguans ( lat. Petaurista , "acrobat") - a genus of squirrel family rodents that inhabit tropical , usually mountain forests of Southeast Asia , Taiwan , Sri Lanka and the islands of the Malay archipelago . Taguan is sometimes called the giant flying couscous [1] .
| Giant flying squirrels | ||||||||||||
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 Japanese giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista leucogenys ) | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Latin name | ||||||||||||
| Petaurista Link , 1795 |
Appearance
The length of the body (without tail) is 60 cm. The color of the back is from fawn gray to black, the belly is grayish, there may be white patches on the face [1] .
Lifestyle
Nocturnal lifestyle ; in a litter 1-2 cubs are born (usually one) [1] .
Usage
The meat is edible [1] .
Views
The genus has 8 species [2] :
- White-red flying squirrel ( Petaurista alborufus )
- Graceful Flying Squirrel ( Petaurista elegans )
- Flying Hodgson ( Petaurista magnificus )
- Bhutanese flying squirrel ( Petaurista nobilis )
- Indian giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista philippensis )
- Chinese giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista xanthotis )
- Japanese giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista leucogenys )
- Giant Flying Squirrel ( Petaurista petaurista )
In 2007 and 2009, two new species were described [3] [4] :
- Petaurista mechukaensis
- Petaurista mishmiensis
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Giant flying squirrels // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
- ↑ Russian names in the book. Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia. "Mammals" Prince. 2 = The New Encyclopedia of Mammals / Ed. D. MacDonald . - M .: Omega, 2007 .-- S. 442. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-465-01346-8 .
- ↑ Choudhury, AU 2007. A new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link from Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. Newsletter and Journal of the Rhino Foundation for Nat. in NE India 7: 26-32.
- ↑ Choudhury, AU 2009. One more new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link, 1795 from Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India. Newsletter and Journal of the Rhino Foundation for Nat. in NE India 7: 26-34.