Southern flying squirrel

Taxobox
name = Southern Flying Squirrel

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image_width = 300px
status = LR/lc
status_system = iucn2.3
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
infraclassis = Eutheria
superordo = Euarchontoglires
ordo = Rodentia
subordo = Sciuromorpha
familia = Sciuridae
subfamilia = Sciurinae
tribus = Pteromyini
subtribus = Glaucomyina
genus = "Glaucomys"
species = "G. volans"
binomial = "Glaucomys volans"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Southern Flying Squirrel ("Glaucomys volans") is one of two species of the genus "Glaucomys", the only flying squirrels found in North America (the other is the somewhat larger Northern Flying Squirrel "G. sabrinus"). It is found in deciduous and mixed woods in the eastern half of North America, from southeastern Canada, to Florida, USA. Disjunct populations of this species also have been recorded from the highlands of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

Description and ecology

Southern flying squirrels have grey brown fur on top with darker flanks and are a cream color underneath. They have large dark eyes and a flattened tail. They have a furry membrane called a patagium which extends between the front and rear legs, used to glide through the air.

Southern Flying Squirrels feed on fruit/nuts from trees such as red and white oak, hickory and beech. They store food, especially acorns, for winter consumption. They also dine on insects, buds, mushrooms, mycorrhizal fungi, carrion, bird eggs and nestlings and flowers. Predators include snakes [E.g. "Elaphe" rat snakes, namely "Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta": Medlin & Risch (2006)] , owls, hawks and raccoons. Domestic house cats can be dangerous to these animals. Although graceful in flight, they are particularly vulnerable on the ground.

Although the squirrels will make outside nests, especially in pine woods, they prefer to nest in holes in dead trees or snags. They often use these nesting holes communally, especially in winter, when huddling gives them significant energy savings. They readily use artificial nest boxes. They choose holes with smaller entrances than those used by the sympatric Eastern gray squirrel ("Sciurus carolinensis"). Sometimes they use holes that have been made by woodpeckers such as the Red-cockaded Woodpecker ("Picoides borealis"); since this is an endangered species, the squirrels are sometimes removed from areas where the woodpeckers nest, though the usefulness of this practice has been disputed. They tend to avoid areas of forest that have been harvested recently.

Both in the wild and in captivity they can produce two litters each year (with 2-7 young per litter), in early spring and mid-summer. The gestation period is approximately 40 days. Young are born without fur or any capabilities of its own. Their ears open at 2 to 6 days old, and fur grows in by 7 days. Their eyes don't open until they are 24-30 days old. Parents leave their young 65 days after they are born. The young then become fully independent at 120 days of age.

Southern Flying Squirrels show substantial homing abilities, and can return to their nests if artificially removed to distances of up to a kilometre. Their home ranges may be up to 40,000 square metres for females and double that for males, tending to be larger at the northern extreme of their range.

Many wildlife biologists condemn the keeping of wildlife as pets. Many U.S. states have laws in place that make it illegal to capture, sell, or keep native wildlife, and other states require a special permit to do so. It is illegal to keep native wildlife in captivity in Canada without a special permit.

Exposure to Southern Flying Squirrels has been linked to cases of epidemic typhus in humans [ [http://www.emedicine.com/med/byname/Typhus.htm eMedicine - Typhus: Article Excerpt by Jason F Okulicz] ] . Typhus spread by flying squirrels is known as "sylvatic typhus" and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented a total of 39 such cases in the U.S. from 1976 to 2001 [ [http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/cwp/view.asp?A=171&Q=249854 Sylvatic Typhus Fact Sheet, Pennsylvania Department of Health] ] . The squirrel acts as host to the Rickettsia prowazekii bacteria and transmission to humans is believed to occur via lice or fleas.

Footnotes

References

*|year=1996|id=9240|title=Glaucomys volans|downloaded=12 May 2006
* (1999): Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of the New World flying squirrels ("Glaucomys"): implications for Pleistocene biogeography. "J. Mammal." 80: 142-155.
* (1999): [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Glaucomys_volans.html Animal Diversity Web - "Glaucomys volans"] . Accessed May 20, 2005.
* (1991): Influence of resource distribution and abundance on home-range characteristics of southern flying squirrels. "Canadian Journal of Zoology" 69: 2589-2593.
* (2006) An experimental test of snake skin use to deter nest predation [English with Spanish abstract] . "Condor" 108(4): 963-965. DOI:10.1650/0010-5422(2006)108 [963:AETOSS] 2.0.CO;2 [http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1650%2F0010-5422%282006%29108%5B963%3AAETOSS%5D2.0.CO%3B2 HTML abstract] [http://www.conservationevidence.com/ViewEntry.asp?ID=578 Summary] at conservationevidence.com
* (1999): Effects of southern flying squirrels on nest success of red-cockaded woodpeckers. "Journal of Wildlife Management" 63: 538-545.
* (1985): Homing in and ecology of the southern flying squirrel "Glaucomys volans" in southeastern Virginia. "American Midland Naturalist" 113: 238-244.
* (1991): Winter energy-expenditure and the distribution of southern flying squirrels. "Canadian Journal of Zoology" 69: 2548-2555.
* (1996): Factors affecting nest box use by southern flying squirrels ("Glaucomys volans") and gray squirrels ("Sciurus carolinensis"). "American Midland Naturalist" 135: 9-13.
* (1997): Using geographic information systems to determine home range of the southern flying squirrel ("Glaucomys volans"). "American Midland Naturalist" 137: 106-111.
* (1999): Selection of nest trees by southern flying squirrels (Sciuridae: "Glaucomys volans") in Arkansas. "J. Zool." 248: 369-377.
* (1998): Demographic and behavioral responses of southern flying squirrels to experimental logging in Arkansas. "Ecological Applications" 8: 1144-1155.
* (1998). Dynamic foraging behavior in the southern flying squirrel ("Glaucomys volans"): test of a model. "American Midland Naturalist" 140: 264-270.

External links

* [http://www.flyingsquirrels.com/ FlyingSquirrels.com]
* [http://www.nfsa.us/ National Flying Squirrel Association] – Pet squirrel care