Petaurista nobilis
(J. E. Gray, 1842)
Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel
Taxonomy
| Subclass | : Theria |
| Infraclass | : Placentalia |
| Magnorder | : Boreoeutheria |
| Superorder | : Euarchontoglires |
| Order | : Rodentia |
| Suborder | : Sciuromorpha |
| Family | : Sciuridae |
| Subfamily | : Sciurinae |
| Tribe | : Pteromyini |
| Genus | : Petaurista |
Species status
Authority citation
Gray, J.E. 1842-12-01. Descriptions of some new genera and fifty unrecorded species of Mammalia. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (1)10(65):255-267.
Authority publication link
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2324287Original name as described
Sciuropterus nobilis
Other common names
Gray's Giant Flying Squirrel · Noble Giant Flying Squirrel · Mishmi Giant Flying Squirrel · Yunnan Giant Flying Squirrel · Mechuka Giant Flying Squirrel
Type material
BMNH:Mamm:1879.11.21.529
Type kind
holotype
Type specimen URI
https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/898ce33b-8cc8-43d6-a0b9-a38e7aaeeae5Type locality
Darjeeling, India.
Biogeographic realm
Palearctic · Indomalaya
Country distribution
Nepal · India · Bhutan · China · Laos · Vietnam · Myanmar
Taxonomy notes
includes the recently described mishmiensis, as well as the recently described muzongensis (initially described as a subspecies of P. albiventer) and yunanensis (itself being recently split from P. philippensis)
Taxonomy notes citation
Choudhury, A. 2007. A new flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link from Arunachal Pradesh in North-East India. Newsletter & Journal of The Rhino Foundation for nature in NE India 7:26-32. a#7650 · Choudhury, A. 2009. Replacement Latin name for Mechuka giant flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link, 1795. Newsletter & Journal of The Rhino Foundation for nature in NE India 8:48. a#66354 · Choudhury, A. 2009. One more new species of giant flying squirrel of the genus Petaurista Link, 1795 from Arunachal Pradesh in North-East India. Newsletter & Journal of The Rhino Foundation for nature in NE India 8:26-34. a#66353 · Li, Q., Li, X.-y., Zeng, X.-l., Bai, H.-t., Jackson, S., Hu, Z.-c., Zhu, Z.-x., Wang, S.-y., Luo, K., Luo, J., Pu, M.-j., Pu, C.-z. and Jiang, X.-l. 2024. Petaurista nobilis and Priapomys leonardi found in Xizang Autonomous Region of China. Acta Theriologica Sinica 44(5):574-586. a#68359 · Li, S. and Feng, Z.-j. 2017. Geographic variation of the large red flying squirrel, Petaurista albiventer (Gray, 1834) (Rodentia: Sciuridae), with a description of a new subspecies in southwestern China. Pakistan Journal of Zoology 49(4):1321-1328. doi:10.17582/journal.pjz/2017.49.4.1321.1328 · Li, Q., Jackson, S.M., Li, X.-y., Song, W.-y., Chen, Z.-z., Zhu, Z.-x., Hu, Z.-c., He, S.-w., Wang, H.-j., Luo, K., Luo, J., Pu, M.-j., Pu, C.-z., Xiong, Y., Li, S.-f., Liu, S.-y. and Jiang, X.-l. 2025. Discovery of a new species of giant flying squirrel (Petaurista) from northwest Yunnan, China, sheds light on the origin and diversification of the genus. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 205(1):zlaf106. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf106 · Yu, F.-r., Yu, F.-h., Pang, J.-f., Kilpatrick, C.W., McGuire, P.M., Wang, Y.-x., Lu, S.-q. and Woods, C.A. 2006. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Petaurista philippensis complex (Rodentia: Sciuridae), inter- and intraspecific relationships inferred from molecular and morphometric analysis. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38(3):755-766. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.12.002 · Casanovas-Vilar, I. (2019). The correct spelling of the nomen of the Yunnan giant flying squirrel Petaurista yunanensis Anderson, 1875 (Rodentia, Sciuridae). Bionomina, 15(1), 66-68.
IUCN Red List status
Near Threatened
Species Permalink
https://mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1001650Country distribution map
The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.
Names and synonyms
Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.
Please send any edits, corrections, or unfilled data (including full citations) to mammaldiversity [at] gmail [dot] com.