Introduction of Petaurista alborufus The red and white squirrel is a kind of rodent, which looks like a squirrel, with a body length of 35-60 cm and a weight of 2000 grams. The head is short and round, the eyes are big, the eyes are red and chestnut, and the pupils are particularly large. Can feel the faint light, suitable for living in the dark world of caves. The hair on the back of the body is red, while the face and abdomen of the body are white. The tail is 40-50 cm long, almost equal to the body length.
The bird's nest is built in a tree hole. Morning and dusk activities are frequent, and they often act alone. Feeding on fruits such as chestnuts. Distributed in Myanmar, Assam, Thailand and Sichuan, Chongqing, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Yunnan in China.
morphological character
The red and white flying squirrel is a large flying squirrel. The body length is 500-600 mm, the tail is shorter than the body, more than 400 mm long, and the hind foot is about 80 mm long. The head is white, the eyes are red and chestnut, the chin is white, the upper part of the throat, the sides of the neck and the chest are all white, and the front edge of the upper arm flap near the shoulder is also white. The back of the body, including the back of the neck, the base of the ear and the shoulders, the rest (except the middle of the back of the body) is chestnut to light chestnut, and there is a large pale yellow or flowery white hair area from the back to the base of the tail. The front of the back is shiny chestnut, the upper part of the skin wing is chestnut brown, and the lower part is orange red. The abdomen of the body is light orange-red-brown, the base of the tail is about 1/4 orange-red-brown, and the end to the tip of the tail turns dark millet. The front and rear feet are red, and the toes are black.
***4 subspecies. The feet of the named subspecies are red, the hair area at the back of the body is pale yellow, and the abdomen is orange. Hubei subspecies has black feet, bright red abdomen and almost no white hair. Yunnan subspecies has red feet, light back and whiter ventral surface.
Skull is almost the largest species in this genus. The supraorbital process is triangular; Interorbital depression; Suture and healing between parietal bones; The horizontal line from the posterior end of the maxilla to the posterior end of the nasal bone. The midline of the left and right frontal bones also healed. The structure of buccal teeth is relatively simple. The first premolar is like a small cork, and its crown area is about 1/6 of that of the second premolar, like an upper molar.
Living habits
During the day, red and white flying squirrels often crouch in tree holes or burrows, sleep with their heads resting on their tails, and only come out for food at night. They act independently and feed on fruits, seeds, buds, leaves and insects of trees. Every time you go out, you can reach 1 km as far as possible. The red and white flying squirrel has another strange feature. No matter how far it is from the hole, it always goes back to the hole nest first, and then excretes feces.
In winter, red and white flying squirrels live in tree holes or caves, no longer go out for food, and go into hibernation until the climate gets warmer.
The red and white flying squirrel glided and screamed from time to time. "Zhi", "Zhi, Zhi" and "Zhi, Zhi, Zhi" have long and short sounds, which are the "languages" for red and white flying squirrels to transmit information to each other. A "squeak" means "nothing" and normal activities can be carried out; "Cheep, cheep" is the sound when chasing or avoiding each other; "Cheep, cheep, cheep" is an emergency signal when threatened. When the cries of "Woods" and "Woohoo, Woohoo" sound, it's time for the red and white flying squirrels to fight the enemy. In early spring, red and white flying squirrels will make a cry of "get one", which is a signal for male flying squirrels to courtship.
The general breeding period is 7- 10 years, and the breeding period is about 7-8 years. February-April is the mating period of flying squirrels every year. Female flying rats make melodious courtship sounds during estrus, and male mice mate quickly when they hear the sounds. The pregnant period of female rats is 75 days, and they give birth to 1 fetus every year, 1 fetus 1-3, and a few of them have more than 5 fetuses. Flying squirrels will open their eyes one month after birth and lose their hair 45 days later. Generally, after 3 months, they will eat by themselves and turn to independent life.
Protection level
This species has been listed in the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals under National Key Protection or with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value issued by the State Forestry Administration of China in August, 2000 1.
It is listed in IUCN) 2013 Red List of Endangered Species VER 3. 1- Low Risk (LC).