Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw)

Northern Flying Squirrel

Don Linzey & Christy Brecht
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, Virginia 24382


Glaucomys sabrinus -- Northern Flying Squirrel
Image served from the University of North Dakota

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Species Description

left lateral view of
skull and mandible
dorsal view of skull ventral view of skull

Index
Phylogeny

Taxonomic Category Scientific Name Common Name
Phylum Chordata Chordates
Class Mammalia Mammals
Order Rodentia Mice, rats, hamsters, etc.
Family Sciuridae Woodchucks, Chipmunks, and Squirrels

Index
Geographic distribution

The northern flying squirrel ranges from eastern Alaska and Canada south through New England and the Great Lakes region. Its range continues south along the Appalachian Mountains to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, but south of Pennsylvania, it exists only in isolated, disjunct populations. In the western United States, the range extends southward in the mountains to southern California and Utah.

Index
Habitat

Preferred habitat consists of spruce-fir forests and mixed conifer-northern hardwood forests. Handley (1953) stated that this squirrel is "irregularly distributed at high elevations in the spruce and balsam cloud forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains." The specimen from Blanket Mountain, however, was found in a deciduous forest "at least seven airline miles from the nearest spruce and fir" (Handley, 1953).

Index
Natural History

Index
Conservation Biology

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Links to Other Sites

Index
Acknowledgements

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References

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Last modified: 8 May, 2002