NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Chinese Giant Flying Squirrel
Petaurista xanthotis (Milne-Edwards, 1872)
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.
Distribution of Petaurista xanthotis Projection: Equirectangular projection, strechted by 112.0%. Geographic limits of the map: N: 44.0° N S: -11.0° N W: 67.0° E E: 163.0° E GMT projection: -JX33.86666666666667cd/21.73111111111111cd GMT region: -R67.0/-11.0/163.0/44.0r GMT region for grdcut: -R67.0/-11.0/163.0/44.0r Relief: SRTM30plus. Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.
Uwe Dedering · 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 Chinese giant flying squirrel (Petaurista xanthotis) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to China. It inhabits high-elevation spruce forests in China and feeds nocturnally on young shoots, leaves, and pine nuts. It nests in trees but does not hibernate. Its litter size averages two.
Wikipedia contributors, Chinese 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 2026-10-05T12:53:40.244433+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Petaurista xanthotis (Milne-Edwards, 1872)
- Name authority
- (Milne-Edwards, 1872)
- Common name
- Chinese 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 xanthotis (Milne-Edwards, 1872)
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 |
| 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=632515 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:4FD5C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.