Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel

About this species

Diet

Leaves, seeds, fruit and nuts

Habitat

Mature subalpine and evergreen forest

Range

Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu

Litter size

1–2

Gestation

About 74 days

The Japanese giant flying squirrel is a large, nocturnal tree squirrel with a broad membrane of skin stretching between the fore and hind limbs. When launched from a tree, this membrane forms a gliding surface while the long tail provides stability and steering. Recorded glides reach 160m. It is much larger than the Japanese flying squirrel (Wikipedia, general species account).

The species inhabits mature subalpine and evergreen forest on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, nesting in cavities of large trees. Its diet changes seasonally and includes leaves, seeds, fruit, nuts and conifer cones; published reviews describe selective feeding across many tree species. Females use smaller home ranges than males. Gestation lasts about 74 days and litters contain one or two young (Kawamichi studies, as reported on Wikipedia; Thorington et al. 2012).

Description: Wildlife of Japan guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)