Glaucomys volans

Southern Flying Squirrel
(*Glaucomys volans*)
Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Sciuromorpha
Family:	Sciuridae
Subfamily:	Sciurinae
Tribe:	Pteromyini
Genus:	Glaucomys
Binomial details
	Glaucomys volans (Linnaeus, 1758)
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) is a nocturnal, gliding squirrel found in temperate to subtemperate pine-hardwood forests in southern Quebec and Ontario, the eastern United States, and parts of Mexico (Dolan and Carter, 1977).

Description

From Dolan and Carter (1977): "Hairs on venter are white to base... Forelimbs and hind limbs are connected from wrist to ankle by a loose fold of fully haired skin; tail is densely haired, broad, dorsoventrally flattened, almost parallel sided, and has the tip rounded... The pelage is of moderate length (about 12 mm), dense, fine, and silky in texture. According to season and subspecies, color of upperparts is drab, pinkish, cinnamon, sayal brown, pale snuff brown, hair brown, bright ochraceous tawny, or yellowish wood brown; bases of hairs are deep neutral gray; sides of face are smokie gray, often shaded with fuscous or buff, cheeks and nose sometimes white; borders of patagium are fuscous, clove brown, or blackish brown above; forefeet are buffy white, hair brown, or grayish buff; hind feet are hair brown, fuscous, or mouse gray; the toes in G. v. volans [northeastern subspecies] are white in winter; tail is hair brown, snuff brown, verona brown, fuscous, or drab above and pinkish cinnamon, vinaceous cinnamon, or pinkish buff beneath; underparts are creamy white and often edged with pinkish cinnamon, vinaceous cinnamon, or pinkish buff."

Museum type specimens

Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905.
Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905.
Holotype: USNM 178366. Glaucomys volans saturatus. Adult female. Dothan, Houston County, Alabama. Collected 13 March 1912.
Holotype: USNM 178366. Glaucomys volans saturatus. Adult female. Dothan, Houston County, Alabama. Collected 13 March 1912.

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range	Reference	Total length	Tail length	Hindfoot length	Ear length	Mass
Alabama	Best & Dusi (2014)	223 (199–248) (n=19)	99 (82–115) (n=19)	30 (27–35) (n=19)	18 (16–20) (n=7)	60.5 (35.1–75.7) (n=5)
Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland	Webster et al. (1985)	210–250	90–120			60–100
Minnesota	Hazard (1982)	214–250	87–110	29–32	16–21	42.5–74.5
Nebraska	Johnsgard (2020)	290–315	129–142			105–170
Texas	Schmidly & Bradley (2016)	225	100	29		41–67
Virginia	Linzey (1998)	200–265	85–115			45–85

Skull

Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905. Dorsal view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905. Ventral view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905. Lateral view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905. Dorsal view of the mandible.
Holotype: USNM 136400. Glaucomys volans texensis. Adult male. Hardin County, Texas. Collected 15 March 1905. Lateral view of the left mandible.

Footprint

NEON03SV4. Glaucomys volans. Right front footprint.
NEON03SV4. Glaucomys volans. Right hind footprint.

Similar species

Comparison with Glaucomys volans

The Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) is larger than Glaucomys volans with total length more than 260 mm (Hall, 1981). From Wells-Gosling and Heaney (1984): "This species is distinguished from G. volans by hairs on the venter being grayish-white at the tips and lead gray (plumbeous) at the base, rather than white at the base. Greatest length of skull is 36 mm or more (less than 36 mm in G. volans; Jackson, 1961). The tail is uniform grayish buff and dark apically, whereas in G. volans it is paler below without a dark tip (Jackson, 1961). The hindfoot is 34 mm or more (32 mm or less in G. volans; Howell, 1918)."

Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)
Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans). Hairs on the venter are white at the base.
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus). Hairs on the venter are lead gray (plumbeous) at the base.
Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)

References

Best TL, Dusi JL. 2014. Mammals of Alabama (Vol. 4). Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

Dolan PG, Carter DC. 1977. Glaucomys volans. Mammalian species (78):1-6.

Hazard EB. 1982. The mammals of Minnesota. Minneapolis (MN, USA): University of Minnesota Press.

Howell AH. 1918. Revision of the American flying squirrels. American Fauna (44):1.

Jackson HHT. 1961. Mammals of Wisconsin. Univ. Madison (Wisconsin, USA): University of Wisconsin Press.

Johnsgard PA. 2020. Wildlife of Nebraska: a natural history. Lincoln (NE, USA): University of Nebraska Press.

Linzey DW. 1998. The mammals of Virginia. McDonald & Woodward Publishing.

Naughton D. 2012. The natural history of Canadian mammals. Toronto (ON, CA): University of Toronto Press.

Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.

Webster WD, Parnell JF, Biggs WC. 1985. Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Chapel Hill (NC, USA): University of North Carolina Press.

Wells-Gosling N, Heaney LR. 1984. Glaucomys sabrinus. Mammalian species (229): 1-8.