Chinese giant flying squirrel

Chinese giant flying squirrel
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Sciuridae
Genus:	Petaurista
Species:	P. xanthotis
Binomial name
Petaurista xanthotis (Milne-Edwards, 1872)

The Chinese giant flying squirrel (Petaurista xanthotis) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to China and Laos .

This squirrel inhabits high elevation spruce forests in China. It feeds nocturnally on young shoots, leaves, and pine nuts. It nests in trees but does not hibernate. Its litter size averages two.^[2]

References

1. Smith, A. T. & Johnston, C. H. (2008). Petaurista xanthotis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
2. Smith, A. and Xie, Y. (2008). The Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.