? Northern Flying Squirrel Conservation status: Lower risk (lc)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Sciuridae Genus: Glaucomys Species: G. sabrinus
Binomial name
Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw, 1801)

The Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America (the other is the somewhat smaller Southern Flying Squirrel, G. volans). Flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal. The Northern Flying Squirrel is found in coniferous and mixed forests across the top of North America, from Alaska to Nova Scotia, south to North Carolina and west to northern California. Range maps are available here. Two subspecies are found in the southern Appalachians, the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel, G. s. coloratus, and the Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel G. s. fuscus, both of which are endangered. Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sylvanus) from USFWS. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Vertebrata is a subphylum of chordates, specifically, those with backbones or spinal columns. ... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla... Families See Classification Section The order Rodentia is the most numerous of the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Genera Many: see text. ... Species Glaucomys volans Glaucomys sabrinus The two species of New World flying squirrels, genus Glaucomys, are the only species of flying squirrel found in North America. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... George Kearsley Shaw. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Species Glaucomys volans Glaucomys sabrinus The two species of New World flying squirrels, genus Glaucomys, are the only species of flying squirrel found in North America. ... Two groups of rodents are referred to as flying squirrels. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Binomial name Glaucomys volans (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, ). It is found in deciduous and mixed woods in eastern North America... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Juneau Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers) Official languages None (English,French,Gaelic) Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant-Governor Myra Freeman Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 11 10 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 12th 55,283... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Raleigh Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ... The Appalachian Mountains are a system of North American mountains running from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to Alabama in the United States, although the northernmost mainland portion ends at the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec. ... An endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. ...

These nocturnal, arboreal rodents have thick light brown or cinnamon fur on their upper body, with a furry membrane which extends between the front and rear leg and allows the animal to glide through the air. They are greyish on their flanks and whitish underneath. They have large eyes and a flat tail.

A major food source for the squirrels are mycorrhizal fungi (truffles) of various species, though they also eat lichens, mushrooms, all mast-crop nuts, tree sap, insects, carrion, bird eggs and nestlings, buds and flowers. The squirrels are able to locate truffles by olfaction, though they also seem to use cues such as the presence of coarse woody debris, indicating a decaying log, and spatial memory of locations where truffles were found in the past. A mycorrhiza (typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas, Greek for fungus roots) is a distinct type of root symbiosis in which individual hyphae extending from the mycelium of a fungus colonize the roots of a host plant. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... Species Truffle describes a group of edible mycorrhizal (subterranean) fungi (genus Tuber, class Ascomycetes, division Mycota). ... Lichenes from Ernst Haeckels Artforms of Nature, 1904 Crustose and foliose lichens on a wall A foliose lichen on basalt. ... Basidiocarps (mushrooms) of the fungus Leucocoprinus sp. ... Olfaction, the sense of odor (smell), is the detection of chemicals dissolved in air (or in water, by animals that live under water). ... In neuroscience, spatial memory is the part of memory responsible for recording information about ones environment and its spatial orientation. ...

The Northern Flying Squirrel nests in holes in trees, preferring large-diameter trunks and dead trees, and will also build outside leaf nests called dreys. They sometimes use cavities created by woodpeckers. Suitable nest sites tend to be more abundant in old-growth forests, and so do the squirrels, though harvested forests can be managed in ways that are likely to increase squirrel numbers. Except when rearing young, the squirrels shift from nest to nest frequently. They often share nests. In all but the most severe weather conditions, the squirrels are active year-round, but in harsh winters in British Columbia they have a single activity period in the middle of the night. Genera Jynx Picumnus Sasia Nesoctites Melanerpes Sphyrapicus Xiphidiopicus Campethera Geocolaptes Dendropicos Dendrocopos Picoides Veniliornis Piculus Colaptes Celeus Dryocopus Campephilus Picus Dinopium Chrysocolaptes Gecinulus Sapheopipo Blythipicus Reinwardtipicus Meiglyptes Hemicircus Mulleripicus Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. ... Old growth forest, sometimes called late seral forest or ancient forest is an area of forest that has attained great age and exhibits unique biological features. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages none stated in law; English is de facto Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 36 6 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 5th 944,735...

Home ranges are up to 40,000 square metres for females and 50 percent higher for males.

Northern Flying Squirrel gliding distances tend to be between 5 and 25 metres, though glides of up to 45 m and longer have been observed. Average glides are about 5 m less for females than for males. Glide angle has been measured at 26.8 degrees and glide ratio at 1.98. Glides have some tendency to be with the slope of terrain, allowing a longer glide. Glide ratio is an aviation term that refers to the distance an aircraft will move forward for any given amount of lost altitude (the cotangent of the downward angle). ...

In the Pacific northwest, the squirrels breed once per year, in May or June. In southern Ontario, evidence of polyestrous behaviour has been recorded recently. Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 4th 1,076,395 km...

Northern Flying Squirrels, along with pine squirrels, are an important prey species for the endangered Spotted Owl Strix occidentalis. They also disseminate spores of the ectomycorrhizal fungi that they eat, and these are essential to many species of conifer and some deciduous trees. Other predators include various other owls, especially the Great Horned Owl, hawks, martens, lynx and red fox. Species Tamiasciurus douglasii Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Pine squirrels are squirrels of the genus Tamiasciurus. ... Binomial name Strix occidentalis Xantus de Vesey, 1860 The Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a species of owl. ... A mycorrhiza (typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas, Greek for fungus roots) is a distinct type of root symbiosis in which individual hyphae extending from the mycelium of a fungus colonize the roots of a host plant. ... Families Strigidae Tytonidae An owl is a member of any of about 220 (222 currently known) species of solitary, mainly nocturnal birds of prey in the order Strigiformes. ... {{Taxobox - | color = pink - | name = Great Horned Owl - | image = Bubo virginianus1. ... Subfamilies Elaninae Perninae Milvinae Accipitrinae Buteoninae Aegypiinae Circinae Circaetinae The Accipitridae is one of the two main families within the order Falconiformes (the diurnal birds of prey). ... Binomial name Martes americana (Turton, 1806) The American Marten, Martes americana, is a North American marten sometimes also called the Pine Marten, even though it is a separate species from the European Pine Marten. ... Binomial name Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792 The Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx. ... Binomial name Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms Vulpes fulva, Vulpes fulvus The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), the most familiar of the foxes, has the widest range of any terrestrial carnivore. ...

References

• Bakker, V. J., & Hastings, K. (2002). Den trees used by northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) in southeastern Alaska. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80, 1623-1633.
• Carey, A. B., Kershner, J., Biswell, B., & De Toledo, L. D. (1999). Ecological scale and forest development: squirrels, dietary fungi, and vascular plants in managed and unmanaged forests. Wildlife Monographs 5-71.
• Carey, A. B., Wilson, T. M., Maguire, C. C., & Biswell, B. L. (1997). Dens of northern flying squirrels in the Pacific northwest. Journal of Wildlife Management, 61, 684-699.
• Cotton, C. L., & Parker, K. L. (2000). Winter activity patterns of northern flying squirrels in sub-boreal forests. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 78, 1896-1901.
• Forsman, E. D., Otto, I. A., Aubuchon, D., Lewis, J. C., Sovern, S. G., Maurice, K. J., & Kaminski, T. (1994). Reproductive chronology of the northern flying squirrel on the Olympic peninsula, Washington. Northwest Science, 68, 273-276.
• Martin, K. J., & Anthony, R. G. (1999). Movements of northern flying squirrels in different-aged forest stands of western oregon. Journal of Wildlife Management, 63, 291-297.
• Mitchell, D. (2001). Spring and fall diet of the endangered West Virginia northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus). American Midland Naturalist, 146, 439-443.
• Pyare, S., & Longland, W. S. (2001). Mechanisms of truffle detection by northern flying squirrels. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 79, 1007-1015.
• Pyare, S., Smith, W. P., Nicholls, J. V., & Cook, J. A. (2002). Diets of northern flying squirrels, Glaucomys sabrinus, in southeast alaska. Canadian Field Naturalist, 116, 98-103.
• Vernes, K. (2001). Gliding performance of the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) in mature mixed forest of eastern Canada. Journal of Mammalogy, 82, 1026-1033.

External links

• Glaucomys.org Pictures and descriptions
• Animal Diversity Web - Glaucomys sabrinus
• Flying Squirrel Central - Northern flying squirrel