Taxon name
Petaurista magnificus
(Hodgson, 1836)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Petaurista magnificus
(Hodgson, 1836)
Common name(s)
Hodgson's Giant Flying Squirrel, Hodgsoner Uranta Kathbirali
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
(Hodgson, 1836)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Petaurista petaurista possibly represents a complex of several similar species. Further studies are needed to clarify the taxonomic status.
Sciuropterus magnificus Hodgson, 1836; Sciuropterus nobilis Gray, 1842; Sciuropterus chrysothryx Hodgson, 1844; Petaurista hodgsoni Ghose and Saha, 1981
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Near Threatened
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
The species is widely distributed in the mixed evergreen forests in the southeast and northeast of Bangladesh. It is rare and difficult to see, because of its nocturnal and arboreal habits (Khan 1996). The population is presumably declining due to habitat loss and habitat degradation. Therefore, it has categorized as a Near Threatened species.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
M. Monirul H. Khan
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Nepal (Molur 2010). Widely distributed in and around mixed evergreen forests in the southeast and northeast of Bangladesh.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species occurs in denuded mixed evergreen tropical and subtropical and broad-leafed forests. It is active at night and sleeps in tree-holes or a shady place of a tree during daytime. It glides from tree to tree in search of food. Feeds on fruits, seeds, barks, sap and resin, and tender leaves and shoots. When asleep it puts its head under the body just like Bengal Slow Loris. It breeds during the rainy season and lays one young in a tree-hollow.
History
Data Deficient in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232
