Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 241 
of 18 inches. They have short, broad heads, very complex tooth 
patterns in the molars, and very wide post-orbital processes on 
the skulls. The flying membrane is continued forward from the 
forearm to the neck and backward from the hind legs to the base 
of the tail, which is usually longer than the head and body. The 
type species is P. petaurista from Java. 
Ellerman recognizes several groups of species of Petaurista. 
The first, containing the type, is short-furred, and colored 
more or less uniformly deep red or black, not grizzled. 
The Red Giant Flying Squirrels, Petaurista petaurista, 
are represented on the Malay Peninsula by P. p. melanotus, in 
peninsular Siam by P. p. cicur, in Fukien, China, by P. p. 
rufipes, in Szechwan by P. p. rubicundus, and in Formosa by 
P. grandis. The Malayan race Petaurista p. melanotus is bright 
reddish, the cheeks and underparts pale reddish. The feet, tip 
of muzzle, posterior half of the ears, and the tip of the tail are 
blackish brown. Petaurista p. cicur of southeast China is clad 
in black-tipped chestnut hairs, the head paler. The muzzle, eye 
ring, and half of ears, the hands and feet, the edge of the 
membranes are all black. The tail basally is blackish, distally 
orange-red, with the tip black. The undersurface of the body is 
reddish orange. The length of head and body is 16% inches, 
tail 19 inches, foot 3 inches. 
The Formosan Red Flying Squirrel, Petaurista p. grandis, 
has the back dark chestnut-red, mixed with some black hairs, 
and the underparts orange-red. The tail is black. The young are 
more blackish than the adults. The length of the head and body 
in adults is 14% to 15% inches, tail 16 to 17 inches, foot 2% 
to 3 inches. 
The Flying Squirrels of the species P. petaurista are particu- 
larly fond of the fruit of the Durian (Cantor) and of coconuts 
(Ridley). 
The White-headed Giant Flying Squirrels, Petaurista 
alborufus, typical of the second group, are large, densely furred 
Flying Squirrels having the body deep red, sometimes with a 
