2i 4 GNAWING ANIMALS 



Squirrel, goes to make the ' squirrel cloaks ' that are such 

 coveted wear. 



The tropical species of Squirrel are often more beauti- 

 fully furred than their Northern brethren. One of the 

 best examples is the Jelerang (Muscardinus avellanarius), 

 or Javan Squirrel, whose brownish-black coat merges into 

 yellow on the sides and abdomen, the same tint adorning 

 the head of the animal. 



TAGUAN FLYING SQUIRREL (Pteromys petauristd). 

 Plate XX. Fig. i. 



The Taguan is one of the best examples of the Flying 

 Squirrels. It is a native of India and the further south- 

 east. It is rather a large species of the family with a body 

 from two to three feet in length and a tail of twenty 

 inches. Its colour is chiefly clear chestnut, deepening 

 into brown on the back. The skin of the flanks is 

 modified in something like similar fashion, but to a much 

 less extent than in the Colugo or Flying Lemur. In this 

 present case the flying membrane extends to and includes 

 the limbs only as far as the wrists and ankles, and parti- 

 cularly it does not include the tail. The skin is developed 

 to such a degree that when the animal is sitting, the paws 

 only just appear from under the soft folds of the delicately 

 thin membrane. 



When making one of its marvellous leaps, the Taguan first 

 stretches out its four limbs to their fullest extent ; and then, 

 taking off at a greater height than where it will alight, it is 

 upborne through the air on the furry parachute. Strictly 

 speaking the action thus described is not that of flying ; it 

 more resembles the daring dive of the gymnast from the 

 flying trapeze ; but nevertheless the mode of progression 

 well serves the Taguan in moving with the utmost rapidity 

 from tree to tree. 



Various species of Flying Squirrels are found from 

 Lapland and Finland, through Siberia, to China and Japan ; 

 and in North America as far south as Guatemala. The 



