FLYING-SQUIRREL

(Sciuroptérus, Pter6mys, and Wupetaurus), three genera of rodent animals, family Sciuridee (squirrels), to which the skin of the flank, extending between the fore and hind legs, imparts the faculty of supporting themselves in the air, as by a parachute, and gliding for considerable distances. The European flying-squirrel (Sciuropterus sibiricus) is a native of the forests in the colder parts of Hurope and Asia; the American flying-squirrel (P. voluceila) lives in troops in the western parts of North America. Pterdmys includes larger forms native to the Oriental region, and HEupetaurus includes a single species from North India and Tibet.