It is hard to guess what a Spotted giant flying squirrel weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans) on average weights 1.04 kg (2.29 lbs).
The Spotted giant flying squirrel is from the family Sciuridae (genus: Petaurista). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 39.8 cm (1′ 4″). Usually, Spotted giant flying squirrels have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The spotted giant flying squirrel (Petaurista elegans), also known as the lesser giant flying squirrel, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in hill and mountain forests at altitudes of 200–4,000 m (660–13,120 ft) in Southeast Asia north to central China and the east Himalayan region, although the northern populations sometimes are regarded as separate species as the grey-headed giant flying squirrel (P. caniceps), Chindwin giant flying squirrel (P. sybilla) and P. marica. Two of these, as well as a few other populations, lack the white spots on the upperparts for which it is named. Although a large flying squirrel, it is a relatively small giant flying squirrel.Like other flying squirrels, it is nocturnal and able to glide (not actually fly like a bat) long distances between trees by spreading out its patagium, skin between its limbs. A rather noisy species that has a drawn-out cry that often can be heard at night, it spends the day in a tree hollow, or, less often, on a cliff ledge or in a nest made of vegetation in a tree. It feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and flowers, and has one, occasionally two, young per litter.
Animals of the same family as a Spotted giant flying squirrel
We found other animals of the Sciuridae family:
- Cream-coloured giant squirrel bringing 1.16 kilos (2.56 lbs) to the scale
- Vordermann’s flying squirrel with a weight of 36 grams
- Andean squirrel with a weight of 803 grams
- Western dwarf squirrel with a weight of 120 grams
- Striped bush squirrel with a weight of 160 grams
- European ground squirrel with a weight of 396 grams
- Hose’s pygmy flying squirrel with a size of 7.8 cm (0′ 4″)
- Xerus erythropus with a weight of 602 grams
- Tufted pygmy squirrel with a weight of 24 grams
- Mohave ground squirrel with a weight of 213 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Spotted giant flying squirrel
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Petaurista elegans:
- Lemur-like ringtail possum bringing 997 grams to the scale
- Sunda flying lemur with a weight of 1.11 kilos (2.45 lbs)
- Giant golden-crowned flying fox with a weight of 1.09 kilos (2.4 lbs)
- Menzies’ echymipera with a weight of 1.2 kilos (2.65 lbs)
- Bengal slow loris with a weight of 1.14 kilos (2.51 lbs)
- Black-footed ferret bringing 907 grams to the scale
- Molina’s hog-nosed skunk bringing 960 grams to the scale
- North African hedgehog bringing 931 grams to the scale
- Hooded skunk with a weight of 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs)
- Western quoll with a weight of 1.12 kilos (2.47 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Spotted giant flying squirrel
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Spotted giant flying squirrel:
- Red acouchi with a size of 36.3 cm (1′ 3″)
- Bahamian hutia with a size of 39.5 cm (1′ 4″)
- Gambian mongoose with a size of 35 cm (1′ 2″)
- Aquatic genet with a size of 45.8 cm (1′ 7″)
- Liberian mongoose with a size of 45 cm (1′ 6″)
- African brush-tailed porcupine with a size of 43.1 cm (1′ 5″)
- Northern Luzon giant cloud rat with a size of 38.2 cm (1′ 4″)
- Yellow-bellied marmot with a size of 41.2 cm (1′ 5″)
- Chinese pangolin with a size of 37.9 cm (1′ 3″)
- Yellow-spotted rock hyrax with a size of 46.9 cm (1′ 7″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Spotted giant flying squirrel
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Spotted giant flying squirrel: