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Vordermann's Flying Squirrel

Petinomys vordermanni
VU · Vulnerable Rodentia Sciuridae
Activity
Nocturnal
Sociability
Solitary

Description

A tiny flying squirrel of Southeast Asia, named in honour of the 19th-century Dutch physician who discovered it, Vordermann's Flying Squirrel survives today in increasingly reduced populations due to forest loss.

How to identify it

Small, with the skin membrane between the limbs characteristic of flying squirrels; identifying Vordermann's Flying Squirrel from other small species of Petinomys in the same region usually requires in-hand examination.

Signs and tracks

A nocturnal glider that roosts in tree hollows during the day, Vordermann's Flying Squirrel leaves virtually no visible tracks and signs on the ground. Nibbled seed or fruit remains under feeding trees provide the main indirect sign.

Habitat and range

Forest in Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar.

Diet

Presumed omnivorous, like other small flying squirrels.

Behaviour

Nocturnal, gliding between trees with the aid of its skin membrane.

Conservation

Population declining due to rapid loss of forest habitat across much of its range.

Threats

Deforestation and loss of forest habitat.

Other accounts in Sciuridae

See all species accounts for rodents · Full species index

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