Javanese Flying Squirrel
Iomys horsfieldii
Summary 2
The Javanese Flying Squirrel (Iomys horsfieldii) is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Habitat 3
Javanese flying squirrels are fairly adaptable animals. They are found in a wide variety of habitats. They can live in a variety of forest environments, even those that are degraded. They also inhabit scrub and are found on durian plantations. They shelter in hollow trees.
Range elevation: 1000 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Physical description 4
Javanese flying squirrels are mostly orange-brown to brown-gray, with a tail that is a slightly brighter shade on the ventral surface and sides. Body length averages 182 mm and the tail is as long as, or slightly longer than, the body. Like other flying squirrels, Javanese flying squirrels have a thin flap of skin, the patagium, connecting the fore and hind limbs to allow for gliding. The patagium is slightly darker in color than the rest of the body. Javanese flying squirrels also have relatively large eyes and ears and long claws for gripping the trees that they live in.
There is no information regarding sex differences in Javanese flying squirrels, but in the closely related Hylopetes and Petinomys species, males and females are not appreciably different, so it is likely that male and female Javanese flying squirrels are also similar in appearance.
There are three named subspecies of Javanese flying squirrels, though too few specimens have been found to be certain whether these constitute distinct groups. Iomys horsfieldii davisoni has dark brown-gray fur and a dark brown tail mottled with red-brown at the edges and a short tooth-row. Iomys horsfieldii penangensis has lighter, brighter coloration and a longer tooth-row. Iomys horsfieldii thomsoni is very similar to I. h. davisoni, but the tail is uniformly red-brown rather than mottled.
Javanese flying squirrels can be distinguished from their closest relatives by their large size, the orange tinge to the lighter underbelly, and the absence, or near absence of hair on the upper surface of the ear lobe. The very similar Petinomys genibarbis can be distinguished from Javanese flying squirrels by the presence of a 5 mm wart on the cheek, sprouting long black whiskers.
Average length: 182 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Fuentes y créditos
- John Gerrard Keulemans, sin restricciones conocidas de derechos (dominio publico), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SciuropterusDavisoniKeulemans.jpg
- Adaptado por Brian Martin del trabajo de (c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iomys_horsfieldii
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18652574
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18652575
