Flying Squirrel

Flying Squirrel, a name for any squirrel having a patagium (q.v.). Of these there are three genera: (1) Anomalurus (often made a separate family, Anomaluridae), with five species, from West Africa. There are peculiar plates on the under surface near the root of the tail, which evidently assist the animal in climbing; (2) Pteromys, with twelve species, ranging from the Western Himalayas to Java and Borneo, and containing the round-tailed flying squirrels; and (3) Sciopterurus, with about sixteen species from Northern Europe, Asia, and America, containing the flat-tailed flying squirrels. The Platouche (S. volans), about the size of a rat, is found in the north-east of Europe.