How does the complex-toothed flying squirrel spend the winter? Understanding its overwintering habits
The complex-toothed flying squirrel has appeared in Chinese language textbooks, where the story tells of how it muddled along and ended up freezing to death, so how exactly does the complex-toothed flying squirrel spend the winter?
1. How does the complex-toothed flying squirrel spend the winter?
The complex-toothed flying squirrel survives the winter by storing food, and generally has its own nest. If the weather is cold or food is scarce, death may occur.
2. Appearance of the complex-toothed flying squirrel
Medium in size, slightly larger than Pallas's squirrel, weighing 300-400 grams, with a body length of 300-340 mm, a slightly flattened tail equal in length to the body, hind feet 40-48 mm long, and ears 30-35 mm long. The head is round with large eyes, a short muzzle, and well-developed, round and broad auditory bullae.
The complex-toothed flying squirrel has conspicuous long, soft tufts of fur at the base of the ears; the base of the back fur is pale grayish-black, the upper part pale yellow, and the tips black. The yellow on the neck and back is more pronounced than on the back; the belly fur is grayish-white with pale orange tips; the flight membrane is the same color as the underside, except the edges are grayish-white, making the boundary between back and belly clearly visible. The color of the upper side of the tail is similar to the back but lighter, with a black tail tip; on the underside of the tail, except for the slightly pale yellow fur at the base, the rest of the fur tips are black, forming a longitudinal stripe all the way to the tail tip. There are black rings around the eyes.
2. Living habits
The complex-toothed flying squirrel mostly inhabits mountain cypress forest areas, often building nests in steep stone caves, rock crevices, and tree hollows; the nests are relatively small and made of weeds, branches, bark, feathers, and the like. The stone caves or rock crevices it inhabits are generally rather narrow, about 1 m deep and about 15-60 cm high. The caves may be straight or curved, uneven and rough; the flying squirrel often lies in the higher part of the cave and lines it with dry grass. In winter, the cave entrance is often sealed with firewood and grass to block wind and cold. The entire cave is dry, clean, and has a moderate temperature year-round. In summer, the highest temperature inside the cave is 25-27°C, and in winter the lowest temperature is around 10°C, with relative air humidity mostly below 60%.
The complex-toothed flying squirrel is a species endemic to China, generally living in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests at an altitude of about 1,200 m, building nests in tall trees or in crevices and stone caves on steep cliff walls.