CreatureData

Red giant flying squirrel

Petaurista petaurista (Pallas, 1766)

LCLeast Concernrodents

The red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) is a species in the family Sciuridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 1.33 kg to 1.66 kg and live up to 16 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista)
Photo: Prashanthns · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the red giant flying squirrel

Weight
1.33 kg – 1.66 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
16 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
45 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
1.08src for Young per litter or clutch
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the red giant flying squirrel live?

Not recorded

What is the red giant flying squirrel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scattered trees in Southeast Asia, ranging north to the Himalayas and southern and central China. One of the largest arboreal squirrels, all populations have at least some reddish-brown above and pale underparts, but otherwise there are significant geographic variations in the colours. The taxonomic position of those in the Sundaic region is generally agreed upon, but there is considerable uncertainty about the others, which variously have been included in this or other species, or recognized as their own species.

Like other flying squirrels, the red giant flying squirrel is mostly nocturnal and able to glide (not actually fly like a bat) long distances between trees by spreading out its patagium, skin between its limbs. It is a herbivore and the female has one, infrequently two, young per litter. Although declining locally due to habitat loss and to a lesser degree hunting, it remains overall common and it is not a threatened species.

From the Wikipedia article “Red giant flying squirrel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_giant_flying_squirrel&oldid=1373406616), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the red giant flying squirrel endangered?

The red giant flying squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the red giant flying squirrel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familySciuridae
  6. genusPetaurista
  7. SpeciesPetaurista petaurista (Pallas, 1766)

Synonyms Petaurista birrelli, Petaurista fulvinus, Petaurista mimicus, Petaurista taguan, Pteromys inornatus, Sciurus petaurista

Other names and names in other languages (22)
  • Common giant flying squirrelEnglish
  • Common giant flying squirrelEnglish
  • লাল উড়ন্ত কাঠবিড়ালিBangla
  • poletucha velkáCzech
  • Rotes RiesengleithörnchenGerman
  • Ardilla Voladora Gigante RojaSpanish
  • punaisoliituriFinnish
  • Pétauriste rouxFrench
  • Vörös óriásrepülőmókusHungarian
  • TandoIndonesian
  • オオアカムササビJapanese
  • 붉은날다람쥐Korean
  • TaguanNorwegian Bokmål
  • Rødbrunt KjempeflygeekornNorwegian Bokmål
  • Vanlig KjempeflygeekornNorwegian Bokmål
  • Wudnee LokhareeNepali
  • TagoeanDutch
  • wielkolot rdzawyPolish
  • Гигантская летягаRussian
  • พญากระรอกบินหูแดงThai
  • Kızıl Uçan SincapTurkish
  • 棕鼯鼠Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the red giant flying squirrel

Other species in the same genus Petaurista.

CompareRed giant flying squirrel vs Indian giant flying squirrelRed giant flying squirrel vs Red and white giant flying squirrelRed giant flying squirrel vs Japanese giant flying squirrelRed giant flying squirrel vs Spotted giant flying squirrel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the red giant flying squirrel?

An adult red giant flying squirrel weighs 1.33 kg – 1.66 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the red giant flying squirrel endangered?

The red giant flying squirrel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the red giant flying squirrel live?

The red giant flying squirrel has a recorded lifespan of 16 years.

How long is the red giant flying squirrel pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 45 days.

What kind of animal is the red giant flying squirrel?

The red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista) belongs to the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-giant-flying-squirrel

MLA

“Red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-giant-flying-squirrel.

BibTeX
@misc{red_giant_flying_squirrel_2026,
  title = {Red giant flying squirrel (Petaurista petaurista)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-giant-flying-squirrel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}