Kingdom Animalia Family Sciuridae Tribe Pteromyini Phylum Chordata Order Rodent | Class Mammalia Subfamily Sciurinae Genus Biswamoyopterus Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Iomys, Namdapha flying squirrel, Large black flying squirrel, Groove‑toothed flying squirrel, Hylopetes | ||
The Laotian giant flying squirrel (Biswamoyopterus laoensis) is an arboreal, flying squirrel endemic to Laos. It was the second described member in the genus Biswamoyopterus, after being first collected in September 2012 by scientists researching the animal corpses in the semi-legal Thongnami bushmeat market, Ban Thongnami, Pakkading District, Bolikhamxai Province.
Description
B. laoensis has reddish, grizzled fur with white above. Its crown is pale grey, its patagium is orangish and its underparts are white.
B. laoensis has the greatest length in the squirrel family, with a body length of 0.46 m and a tail length of 0.62 m, for a total length of 1.08 m, along with a mass of 1.8 kg. This is slightly larger than the one other Biswamoyopterus species, B. biswasi, known from a single sample found in India in 1981.