Japanese Flying Squirrel

The Japanese flying squirrel is a small endemic squirrel with very large eyes, rounded ears and a soft membrane joining the wrists to the ankles. Spreading this membrane lets the animal glide between trees; the flattened tail helps control direction and landing. It is substantially smaller than the Japanese giant flying squirrel and has a compact, round-headed appearance (Animal Diversity Web species account).

This squirrel is strictly nocturnal, spending daylight hours in tree cavities or nests and emerging around dusk. It rarely descends to the ground. Across its range it occupies subalpine and boreal evergreen forest on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Its diet includes nuts, pine seeds, buds, bark and fruit, with insects also reported. Mothers keep young in the nest for at least six weeks (Animal Diversity Web species account).