NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel
Petaurista philippensis (Elliot, 1839)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis), also called the large brown flying squirrel or the common giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is capable of gliding flight using a skin membrane, the patagium, stretched between front and hind legs. It is found in mainland Southeast and South Asia, and southern and central China.
Wikipedia contributors, Indian 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 2026-10-05T12:47:56.037243+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Petaurista philippensis (Elliot, 1839)
- Name authority
- (Elliot, 1839)
- Common name
- Indian 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 philippensis (Elliot, 1839)
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 |
| Bhutan Giant Flying SquirrelPetaurista nobilis (Gray, 1842) | 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=632514 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4FD5B. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.