NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Bhutan Giant Flying Squirrel
Petaurista nobilis (Gray, 1842)
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.
Bhutan giant flying squirrel (Petaurista nobilis) in Sikkim, India
Nandini Velho · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Bhutan giant flying squirrel (Petaurista nobilis), also known as the Gray's giant flying squirrel or noble giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. This species lives in Himalayan forests and it is one of the largest flying squirrels. Like other flying squirrels, it is mainly 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, Bhutan 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 2026-10-05T12:47:08.105733+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Petaurista nobilis (Gray, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1842)
- Common name
- Bhutan 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 nobilis (Gray, 1842)
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 |
| Spotted Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista elegans (Müller, 1840) | 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 |
| 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=632512 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:4FD59. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.