Flying squirrel

A squirrel that glides between trees using a skin membrane stretched between its limbs. Flying squirrels steer with their limbs and tail but cannot fly under their own power.

Patagium: A membrane of skin or other tissue stretched between limbs, used by some animals for gliding. This membrane forms the flying squirrel’s gliding surface.
Sciuridae: The mammal family that includes squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, and prairie dogs. Flying squirrels are members of this family, despite their specialized gliding.
Forest fragmentation: The division of continuous forest into smaller, separated patches by natural or human causes. Fragmented canopies can remove the connected routes flying squirrels use to glide.
True flight: Powered aerial movement sustained by generating thrust, usually through repeated wingbeats. Flying squirrels glide without the powered wingbeats that define true flight.
Gliding flight: A mode of aerial travel in which an animal moves through the air without powered flapping. Flying squirrels use this form of flight to cross gaps between trees.
Rodentia: The mammalian order characterized by a pair of continuously growing incisors in each jaw. Squirrels belong to this order, whose defining teeth are adapted for gnawing.
Wildlife corridor: A strip or network of habitat that connects otherwise separated wildlife populations or habitats. Connected tree cover can preserve movement routes across gaps in flying squirrel habitat.
Sugar glider: A small Australian marsupial that glides using a membrane between its limbs. It resembles a flying squirrel in lifestyle but belongs to a different mammalian lineage.
Aerial righting reflex: An animal’s ability to rotate its body in the air into a stable orientation. It helps a squirrel orient itself before landing on a tree trunk.
Nocturnality: A pattern of activity concentrated during the night rather than the day. Most flying squirrels forage and travel after dark.

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