Hodgson's giant flying squirrel

The Hodgson's giant flying squirrel is native to the Himalayan region where found in Nepal, Bhutan, southern Xizang (Tibet) in China, and the Indian states of Sikkim, far northern West Bengal and much of Arunachal Pradesh.{{cite journal | author1=Krishna, M.C. | author2=A. Kumar | author3=O.P. Tripathi | author4=J.L. Koprowski | year=2016 | title=Diversity, Distribution and Status of Gliding Squirrels in Protected and Non-protected Areas of the Eastern Himalayas in India | journal=Hystrix: The Italian Journal of Mammalogy | volume=27 | issue=2 | pages=1–9 | doi=10.4404/hystrix-27.2-11688 }}{{cite web | author1=Sharma, G. | author2=M. Kamalakannan | author3=K. Venkataraman | year=2015 | title=A Checklist of Mammals of India with their distribution and conservation status | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303971343 | publisher=Zool. Surv. India, Kolkata }} Although also reported from Bangladesh,{{cite journal | author=Aziz, A. | year=2011 | title=Notes on the status of mammalian fauna of the Lawachara National Park, Bangladesh | journal=Ecoprint | volume=18 | pages=45–53 | doi=10.3126/eco.v18i0.9398 | doi-access=free }} Myanmar (Burma), and the Indian states of Assam{{cite journal | author1=Ghose, R.K. | author2=S.S. Saha | year=1981 | title=Taxonomic review of Hodgson's giant flying squirrel, Petaurista magnificus (Hodgson) (Sciuridae: Rodentia), with description of a new subspecies from Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India | journal=The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society | volume=78 | issue=1 | pages=93–102 }} and Meghalaya,{{cite book | author=Sclater, W.L. | year=1981 | title=Catalogue of mammalia: Preserved in the Indian Museum Calcutta | volume=II | publisher=Cosmo Publication }} its presence south and east of the Indian part of the Brahmaputra (Siang) River is questionable and likely the result of misidentifications of other species of giant flying squirrels.{{cite book | author=Choudhury, A.U.| year=2013 | title=The mammals of North East India | publisher=Gibbon Books & The Rhino Foundation with support from COA, Taiwan, Guwahati | isbn=978-93-80652-02-3 }} A taxonomic review of all flying squirrels did not include Bangladesh, Myanmar, Assam or Meghalaya as part of the range of the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel,{{cite journal | author1=Jackson, S.M. | author2=R.W. Thorington Jr. | year=2012 | title=Gliding Mammals – Taxonomy of Living and Extinct Species | journal=Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology | volume=638 | issue=638 | pages=1–117 | doi=10.5479/si.00810282.638.1 | url=https://figshare.com/articles/book/Gliding_Mammals_Taxonomy_of_Living_and_Extinct_Species/9762035 }} a checklist and distribution review of mammals of India did not include Assam or Meghalaya as part of its range, and a guide to the mammals of Mainland Southeast Asia did not recognise the species as part of the fauna of Myanmar.{{cite book | author=Francis, C.M. | year=2008 | title=A Guide to the Mammals of Southeast Asia | publisher=Princeton University Press | isbn=978-0-691-13551-9 }}

The Hodgson's giant flying squirrel occurs at altitudes of between {{cvt|400|and(-)|3700|m|ft}}, but it is mostly reported from {{cvt|1500|to(-)|2700|m|ft}}.{{cite journal | author=Koli, V.K. | year=2016 | title=Biology and Conservation Status of Flying Squirrels (Pteromyini, Sciuridae, Rodentia) in India: An Update and Review | journal=Proc Zool Soc | volume=69 | issue=1 | pages=9–21 | doi=10.1007/s12595-015-0141-z | s2cid=255613233 }} It is found in tropical forests, subtropical forests and temperate broadleaf forests.{{cite journal | author1=Koirala, S. | author2=H.B. Katuwal | author3=B. Achami | author4=K.B. Shah | year=2016 | title=Parasites of Hodgson's Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista magnificus) | journal=Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci. | volume=3 | issue=7 | pages=8–13 }} Although found in both forests that are deciduous and evergreen, it appears to prefer the former.{{cite book | editor1=Smith, A.T. | editor2=Xie, Y. | year=2008 | title=A Guide to the Mammals of China | publisher=Princeton University Press | pages=178–179 | isbn=978-0-691-09984-2 }}

The Hodgson's giant flying squirrel was named by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1836 as Sciuropterus magnificus. It was later moved to the genus Petaurista, along with the other giant flying squirrels. The English name was coined later to honour Hodgson.{{cite book | author1=Thapa, S. | author2=H.B. Katuwal | author3=S. Koirala | author4=B.V. Dahal | author5=B. Devkota | author6=R. Rana | author7=H. Dhakal | author8=R. Karki | author9=H. Basnet | year=2016 | title=Sciuridae (Order: Rodentia) in Nepal | publisher=Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal | pages=24–26 }} Hodgson, who has been called the "father of Indian vertebrate zoology", planned on making a major book covering mammals and birds of Nepal, but to his disappointment it was never published. However, the illustrations intended for the book, including one showing three Hodgson's giant flying squirrels, are in the collection of London's Natural History Museum.{{cite web | author=Pethers, H. | date=11 July 2011 | title=Behind the scenes: the Hodgson project | url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/community/library/blog/2011/07/11/behind-the-scenes-the-hodgson-project.html | publisher=Natural History Museum, London | access-date=12 August 2019 }}

Two subspecies have been described: P. m. magnificus (at least in Nepal) and P. m. hodgsoni (at least in Darjeeling; scientific name also honouring Hodgson). The latter has somewhat darker fur and differs in certain cranial measurements. Some authorities recognise both subspecies,{{cite book | author1=Datta, R. | author2=R. Nandini | year=2015 | chapter=Sciurids | page=536 | editor1=A.J.T. Johnsingh | editor2=N. Manjrekar | title=Mammals of South Asia | volume=2 | publisher=Universities Press, India | isbn=9788173715891 }}{{cite journal | author1=Srinivasulu, C. | author2=S. Chakraborty | author3=M.S. Pradhan | year=2003 | title=Checklist of Sciurids (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) of South Asia | journal=Zoos' Print Journal | volume=19 | issue=2 | pages=1351–1360 | doi=10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.19.2.1351-60 }}{{cite book | author=Menon, V. | year=2014 | title=Indian Mammals | publisher=Hachette Book Publishing | isbn=978-93-5009-760-1 }} while others consider the species monotypic with P. m. hodgsoni being a synonym.{{MSW3 Sciuridae |id=12400390 |heading=Species Petaurista magnificus}}

This large flying squirrel has a head-and-body length of about {{cvt|36-51|cm|in|round=0.5}}, a tail length of {{cvt|41.5-55|cm|in|round=0.5}} and a weight of {{circa}} {{cvt|1.35-1.8|kg|lb}}. There are some variations in the proportions; some individuals have a longer tail than the head-and-body, but it is shorter in others.

The shoulders of the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel are cream–buff or golden–yellowish. This contrasts clearly with the reddish–chestnut, maroon or russet upperparts, including flanks. The "saddle" region of the back always appears overall dark and it is sometimes mixed with some black hairs, but it can also have some hairs that are white-tipped. The top of the head is dark and connected by dark thin line or broad patch to the dark "saddle". There is typically no obvious light crown patch, but if present it only consists of a yellowish spot that occasionally forms a streak. The underparts are chestnut–orange or orange–buff. The tail is dark brown at the base, the rest being reddish-brown, apart from the tip which is black. The feet are also black.

File:Petaurista nobilis (Sikkim, India)2.jpg, a species often confused with the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel]]

Despite already being scientifically described by John Edward Gray in 1842, the Bhutan giant flying squirrel (Petaurista nobilis) has often been confused with the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel, which is found in the same general region. In 1863, Edward Blyth considered the Bhutan giant flying squirrel as a synonym of the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel. Many—but not all—later sources followed this and William Thomas Blanford considered the two as seasonal variants of one species, with the Bhutan giant flying squirrel being the "summer form" and the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel being the "winter form". This was repeated by others, even authorities with access to museum specimens showing that neither colour pattern is restricted to a specific season. The situation was further confused by mislabeled museum specimens, including a misidentified Bhutan giant flying squirrel that was recognised as a paratype for the Hodgson's giant flying squirrel in 1918. This confusion was the source of the incorrect reports of "Hodgson's giant flying squirrels" with a light stripe along the mid-back, a claim sometimes still repeated based on the original misunderstanding by Blanford. Only in the late 1970s and early 1980s was it firmly established that the two species differ both in their colour patterns and size.{{ cite journal | author=Saha, S.S. | year=1977 | title=A new subspecies of the flying squirrel, Petaurista nobilis (Gray), from Bhutan | journal=Proc. Zool. Soc., Calcutta | volume=28 | issue=1 | pages=27–29 }} In addition to its larger average size (although its tail may be shorter) and differences in the skull, the Bhutan giant flying squirrel has flanks that are roughly the same colour as the shoulder patches, it often—but not always—has a light stripe along the mid-back, and it often—but not always—has a distinct pale fulvous or orange–buff band/patch on the crown (making the dark top of the head appear rather like a bandit mask).

Hodgson's giant flying squirrel is a nocturnal species. At dusk its booming calls can be heard as it emerges from its daytime hiding place in the canopy. It then glides down from the treetops to the rhododendrons and bushes growing below; the glide may cover a distance of as much as {{convert|100|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} and terminates with a short upward movement. This squirrel feeds on fruits (especially nuts, chestnuts and acorns), young leaves, buds, flowers, grass, tree resin and insects. It sleeps during the day in a tree hole {{cvt|5-15|m|ft|round=5}} above the ground, lined with soft vegetation and fur. Little is known of its reproductive behaviour, but pregnant females have been recorded in November. There is typically only one young in each litter (as typical of giant flying squirrels), occasionally two.

The total number of Hodgson's giant flying squirrels is thought to be decreasing, but it is found in several protected areas and it is sufficiently widespread to be recognised as least concern by the IUCN. The primary threat is habitat loss and degradation. Secondary threats are hunting for bushmeat and its pelt, and capture for the local pet trade. Captives are generally short-lived.{{cite book | author=Shrestha, T.K. | year=1997 | title=Mammals of Nepal: With Reference to Those of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakistan | publisher=R.K. Printers, Teku, Kathmandu | pages=83–84 | isbn=978-0952439066 }} Free-ranging dogs sometimes kill Hodgson's giant flying squirrels.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Photos of Hodgson's giant flying squirrel — Bangkokherps: [https://bangkokherps.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/sick-for-frogs-in-darjeeling/ Sick for frogs in Darjeeling] ({{3/4}} down the page)
• Photo of Hodgson's giant flying squirrel — Mahatha, U: [http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=499355 Hodgson's Giant Flying Squirrel]

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Category:Petaurista

Category:Mammals described in 1836

Category:Mammals of Bhutan

Category:Rodents of China

Category:Rodents of India

Category:Mammals of Myanmar

Category:Mammals of Nepal

Category:Fauna of Tibet

Category:Taxa named by Brian Houghton Hodgson

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot