116.

Travancore Flying Squirrel

Petinomys fuscocapillus

French: Polatouche du Travancore / German: Travancore-Gleithornchen / Spanish: Ardilla voladora de Travancore

Taxonomy. Sciuropterus fuscocapillus Jerdon, 1847,

“S. India, Travancore.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Western Ghats of S India and the C & S regions of Sri Lanka.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 187-340 mm, tail 244-290 mm; weight 300-712 g. Upperparts of the Travancore Flying Squirrel are rufescent fulvous or dark brownish. Cheeks, chin, and underparts are rufous white. Ears are small and almost hairless. Tail is bushy and black, with white tip. Feet are pale yellowish brown.

Habitat. Deciduous and evergreen forests, often in mountainous areas. The Travancore Flying Squirrel also feeds in plantations and is sometimes found near villages.

Food and Feeding. The Travancore Flying Squirrel eats fruits of many tree species and can cause damage to coconut and cashew plantations. It also eats insects and larvae. Young leaves, shoots, bark, seeds, nuts, gum, and resin make up a smaller percentage of the diet.

Breeding. The Travancore Flying Squirrel is thought to produce two young per litter and breeding likely occurs in March.

Activity patterns. The Travancore Flying Squirrel is nocturnal. It nests in tree hollows and appears to spend most of its time in the canopy.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Travancore Flying Squirrelis solitary. It exists seems to occur in low numbers. It is reasonably tolerant of disturbance, and in one study, it had higher densities in smaller forest fragments.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. Distribution of the Travancore Flying Squirrelis highly fragmented, and current population trend is decreasing. Primary threats result from habitat loss due to logging, agriculture, and human development.

Bibliography. Jackson (2012), Jackson & Thorington (2012), Koli (2016), Molur et al. (2005), Rajamani et al. (2008b), Thorington, Koprowski et al. (2012), Thorington, Musante et al. (1996), Thorington, Pitassy & Jansa (2002), Thorington, Schennum et al. (2005), Umapathy & Kumar (2000).