157.

Thomas's Flying Squirrel

Aeromys thomasi

French: Polatouche de Thomas / German: Thomas-Gleithornchen / Spanish: Ardilla voladora de Thomas

Taxonomy. Petaurista thomasi Hose, 1900,

“Baram, Sarawak, Malaysia.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Borneo, except the S part.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 300-363-3 mm, tail 370-410 mm; weight 1.1-1.4 kg. Thomas’s Flying Squirrel is uniformly dark brown or black, similar in color to the nominate subspecies of the Black Flying Squirrel (A. tephromelas tephromelas) but slightly larger. Tail is thin with flattened hairs.

Habitat. Lowland to mid-elevation (up to 1600 m) montane tall and secondary forests.

Food and Feeding. Thomas's Flying Squirrel is a frugivore and feeds mainly on fruits.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. Thomas's Flying Squirrels are nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Current population trend of Thomas’s Flying Squirrel is unknown. Little information is known aboutits ecology or abundance. It might be present in several protected areas. It might be under threat due to habitat destruction in the lower elevations. Additional studies are needed to understand distribution and abundance in the south-eastern and central Bornean mountain ranges.

Bibliography. Harris (1944), Jackson (2012), Jackson & Thorington (2012), Meijaard et al. (2006), Ruedas et al. (2008a), Thorington et al. (2012).