Flying mouse
Genus of rodents
The flying mice, also known as the pygmy scaly-tails, pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrels, or pygmy anomalures are not true mice, not true squirrels, and are not capable of true flight. These unusual rodents are essentially miniaturized versions of anomalures and are part of the same sub-Saharan African radiation of gliding mammal.
01Characteristics
These animals resemble mice with gliding membranes and long, sparsely-haired tails. Their appearance is similar to some marsupial gliders. They are less than 10 cm (4 inches) in head and body length and weigh 14-35 grams (1/2 - 1.2 oz). They have a morphologically specialized tongue.
Flying mice are nocturnal and are found in the poorly explored tropical forests of central (and to a lesser extent western) Africa. Little is known of their habits as a result. Gerald Durrell has attested that one or both species live in colonies of dozens of individuals. Bats may also be found sharing these tree-hollow colonies.
02Species
- Long-eared flying mouse (Idiurus macrotis)
- Pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel (Idiurus zenkeri)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Flying mouse”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Anomaluridae distribution.png by PresN, CC BY-SA 3.0
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