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Southern Flying SquirrelsThe flying squirrels are found in a subfamily named Petauristinae in the squirrel family Sciuridae. This subfamily contains 36 different species, but it is only two of them that are native to the North American continent. When English speaking persons talk about flying squirrels, they are therefore usually referring to one of these two species. In Europe, English speaking people do however commonly use the term flying squirrel for the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) too. The two North American flying squirrel species are both found in the genus Glaucomys, and their scientific names are Glaucomys sabrinus and Glaucomys volans. Glaucomys sabrinus is also known as the Northern flying squirrel, while Glaucomys volans is known as the Southern flying squirrel. The Southern flying squirrel is found in the eastern part of North America, from Quebec and Nova Scotia in Canada, and Ontario in the USA, to Ohio and Main in the USA and all the way into Mexico. You can also found relict populations in Guatemala, but only at higher altitudes. |
The Southern flying squirrel is famous for the furry membrane that extends between the animals’ front and rear legs. This membrane is called “patagium” and the Southern flying squirrel uses it to glide through the air. The name Southern flying squirrel is therefore a bit misleading – the flying squirrels do not really fly. The coat of the Southern flying squirrel is grey-brown on top and cream colored underneath. The flanks are darker than the rest of the body. It has a flattened tail and big eyes.
The Southern flying squirrel is often found among beech and hickory trees, as well as in red and white oak trees, since it loves to eat the fruits and nuts of these species. To survive the cold and barren winter, the Southern flying squirrel gathers food and stores it. The fruit/nut/acorn diet is supplemented with a wide range of other food types, including mushrooms, mycorrhizal fungi, insects, bird eggs and newly hatched chicks, carrion, buds and flowers.
The Southern flying squirrel is most likely an ancestor if Asian squirrels that migrated via the Bering Land Bridge during the Miocene era, approximately 25 million years ago. In Asia, they had lived in temperate forests with a mixed deciduous and coniferous flora. During the ice ages, these squirrels were forced to move to ice-free regions. Since it was used to quite a warm climate, the Southern flying squirrel that moved to North America via the Bering Land Bridge migrated as far south as Central America during a cold period that occurred approximately 100,000 years ago. It is still possible to find the Southern flying squirrel in Mexico and Central America, but only in the form of isolated relict populations that inhabit forests found at a high altitude.
There exists ten subspecies of Southern flying squirrel. Glaucomys volans volans is the most common sub-species across the species range and this southern flying squirrel can be found in Canada as well as in the United States. Glaucomys volans querceti, Glaucomys volans saturatus and Glaucomys volans texensis can only be found in the United States. Glaucomys volans madrensis is limited to Mexico only, and is a relict from the most recent ice age. In Central America you can find five other such relicts, Glaucomys volans chontali, Glaucomys volans goldmani, Glaucomys volans herreranus, Glaucomys volans oaxacensis and Glaucomys volans underwoodi.
Since the Southern flying squirrel can be found in such a wide region, it has naturally been given a large amount of different common names by the populations in each part of its range. In the English language, it is for instance referred to as Fairy Diddle, Fairy Glider, Eastern flying squirrel and White-furred flying squirrel. The French speaking population of Canada commonly refers to the Southern flying squirrel as Petite polatouche, while Assapanick is the name used by many members of indigenous First Nations populations.
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southern flying squirrels