NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel
Petaurista elegans (Müller, 1840)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
![The Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., F.R.A.S., F.G.S., during the years 1843-1846 /.
London :Reeve and Benham, 1850 [i.e. 1848-1850].](/assets/optimized/5c4ad88b2236adf04cba19e32402010febca0f8f4c23b16522f5c37240ae9a6d.webp)
The Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., F.R.A.S., F.G.S., during the years 1843-1846 /. London :Reeve and Benham, 1850 [i.e. 1848-1850].
Waterhouse Hawkins · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of 200–4,000 m (660–13,120 ft) in Southeast Asia north to central China and the east Himalayan region, although the northern populations sometimes are regarded as separate species as the grey-headed giant flying squirrel (P. caniceps), Chindwin giant flying squirrel (P. sybilla) and P. marica. Two of these, as well as a few other populations, lack the white spots on the upperparts for which it is named. Although a large flying squirrel, it is a relatively small giant flying squirrel. Like other flying squirrels, it is nocturnal and able to glide (not actually fly like a bat) long distances between trees by spreading out its patagium, skin between its limbs.
Wikipedia contributors, Spotted giant flying squirrel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:54:44.143315+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Petaurista elegans (Müller, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Müller, 1840)
- Common name
- Spotted Giant Flying Squirrel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Petaurista
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderSciuromorpha Brandt, 1855
- familySciuridae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- subfamilySciurinae Fischer de Waldheim, 1817
- tribePteromyini Brandt, 1855
- genusPetaurista Link, 1795
- speciesPetaurista elegans (Müller, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Petaurista. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Red and White Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista alborufus (Milne-Edwards, 1870) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista leucogenys (Temminck, 1827) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hodgson's Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista magnificus (Hodgson, 1836) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chinese Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista xanthotis (Milne-Edwards, 1872) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-headed Flying SquirrelPetaurista caniceps (Gray, 1842) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bhutan Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista nobilis (Gray, 1842) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista philippensis (Elliot, 1839) | SciuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632509 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4FD56. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.