Southern flying squirrel2/18/2023 Once young squirrels are six to eight weeks old, they can only be distinguished from adults on the basis of size. After three weeks, they are covered in dense fur everywhere other than their underbellies, which are densely furred by the fourth week. Their eyes and ears are sealed shut until approximately three to four weeks after birth, and they are nursed until they are approximately five weeks old. Newborn southern flying squirrels are 3 - 5 grams in total mass, and are completely hairless. ( Dolan and Carter, 1977 Linzey, 1998 Schwartz and Schwartz, 1981 Whitaker Jr. They have 22 teeth, and their dental formula is 1023/1013. Their front and rear feet are nearly the same size, but their rear feet contain five claws while their front feet only contain four. The hair on their underbellies and under their nose is an off white cream color throughout, while the hair on their dorsal side and above their nose is greyish brown at the tips and black at the base. Eyes are black and encircled by black hair. Southern flying squirrels have large eyes in relation to their body size. Each ear measures between 15 and 25 mm in total length. Their ears are pink and hairless on the inside, and are covered in greyish brown hair on the outside. (1998), taken from 66 individuals in Florida averaged: total length 221 mm, tail 100 mm, hind foot 30 mm, and weight 52 grams. Another set of measurements, reported by Whitaker Jr. (1998), measurements taken from 64 individuals in Indiana averaged: total length 228 mm, tail 100 mm, hind foot 31 mm, and weight 63 grams. Southern flying squirrels grow to a maximum length of 285 mm (range: 200-285 mm) and a maximum weight of 90 g (range: 38-90 g). ( Bendel and Gates, 1987 Castellanos, et al., 2014 Dolan and Carter, 1977 Linzey and NatureServe (Hammerson G.), 2008 Sonenshine, et al., 1979 Weigl, 1978) They also tend to nest more commonly in shelters within 100 meters of a body of water. Common nesting sites include abandoned woodpecker holes, bird and squirrel nests, and nest boxes. Nesting choice is influenced by both local availability of cavities and climate. They tend to either nest inside tree cavities or in nests made of leaves. Although they are not restricted to any particular type of forest, southern flying squirrels are more commonly found in beech-maple, oak-hickory, and poplar forests. However, the subspecies found south of the United States tend to inhabit higher altitudes, such as mountain ranges. Due to the wide geographic range of this species, elevation has not been reported for the species as a whole. Southern flying squirrels are most commonly found in temperate to subtemperate deciduous and mixed forests. ( Dolan and Carter, 1977 Linzey and NatureServe (Hammerson G.), 2008) Inland areas of Guatemala, as far south as northwest Honduras, are occupied by the subspecies G. Areas throughout the Chiapan highlands are inhabitaed by G. Glaucomys volans oaxacensis is found throughout the Madre del Sur, as far south as Oaxaca and as far north as Guerrero. chontali is limited to a small area southwest of Oaxaca. herreranus inhabit the Sierra Madre Oriental throughout regions north and east of Mexico City, as far south as Veracruz. madrensis inhabit the Sierra Madre Occidenal in areas of western Chihuahua and eastern Sinaloa. Six isolated subspecies have been found to inhabit mountainous regions of Mexico and Central America. volans in the north, no evidence has shown that the four subspecies are distinctly geographically separated from one another. texensis, from east to west, in the south and G. Although these four species are specific to different geographic ranges, G. querceti inhabit North American forests north of Mexico. ( Dolan and Carter, 1977 Linzey and NatureServe (Hammerson G.), 2008)įour subspecies of Glaucomys volans, including G. However, it is relatively uncommon to find this species inhabiting the Canadian provinces. The southern flying squirrel is also found as far north as Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick and as far south as Honduras. Glaucomys volans, better known as the southern flying squirrel, is predominately found throughout the eastern half of the United States, as far west as the Great Plains.
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