Grey-headed Giant Flying Squirrel

The spotted giant flying squirrel has a head-and-body length of about 29.5–40 cm (11.5–15.5 in), tail length of 34–40.5 cm (13.5–16 in) and weighs 760–1,560 g (1.68–3.44 lb). This makes it a large species of flying squirrel, but the smallest giant flying squirrel in its range. The underparts are light orange-brown to pale rufous, but especially the colour of the head, upperparts and tail vary considerably depending on subspecies. The first group of subspecies has a black tail with only the base rufous-brown. In P. e. punctata of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, the head and upperparts are rufous-brown, somewhat darker on the midback. The upperparts from the top of the head and shoulders to the rump have many relatively large white spots, although on occasion they are more restricted. P. e. banksi of highlands of northern Borneo is similar, except that its upper head, nape and back are black, resulting in a clear contrast with the rich rufous-brown flanks and tail base. It has white spots above as in P. e. punctata, but these can be absent in young. The Sumatran P. e. sumatrana resembles P. e. punctata, but has fewer white spots that mostly are distributed on the mid-back. The Javan P. e. elegans and P. e. slamatensis (the latter likely is a synonym of the former) resemble P. e. …