Flying mouse

{{Short description|Genus of rodents}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Britannica Flying-squirrel Pigmy African Flying-Squirrel.png

| image_caption = Pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel

| taxon = Idiurus

| authority = Matschie, 1894

| type_species = Idiurus zenkeri

| type_species_authority = Matschie, 1894

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

Idiurus macrotis

Idiurus zenkeri

}}

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.{{cite journal |last1=Fabre |first1=Pierre-Henri |last2=Tilak |first2=Marie-Ka |last3=Denys |first3=Christiane |last4=Gaubert |first4=Philippe |last5=Nicolas |first5=Violaine |last6=Douzery |first6=Emmanuel J. P. |last7=Marivaux |first7=Laurent |title=Flightless scaly-tailed squirrels never learned how to fly: A reappraisal of Anomaluridae phylogeny |journal=Zoologica Scripta |date=July 2018 |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=404–417 |doi=10.1111/zsc.12286 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/zsc.12286|url-access=subscription }} These unusual rodents are essentially miniaturized versions of anomalures and are part of the same sub-Saharan African radiation of gliding mammal.

==Characteristics==

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.{{cite journal |last1=Potapova |first1=E. G. |title=The Tongue Structure in Scaly-Tailed Squirrels (Rodentia, Anomaluridae) |journal=Biology Bulletin |date=December 2018 |volume=45 |issue=8 |pages=865–871 |doi=10.1134/S1062359018080137}}

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. It has been suggested that one or both species may live in colonies of dozens of individuals. Bats may also be found sharing these tree-hollow colonies.